Canvas
Canvas is ChatGPT's interactive workspace for writing and coding. Instead of working entirely in the chat window, Canvas opens a side-by-side editor where you and ChatGPT can collaborate on documents and code in real time.
Think of it as Google Docs meets AI — you can write, edit, get suggestions, and refine your work in a dedicated space that's designed for longer-form content. Today you'll learn how to use Canvas for writing, coding, and exporting your finished work.
What Canvas is and when to use it
Canvas is a split-screen workspace that appears alongside the ChatGPT chat. On one side, you have your conversation. On the other, you have a full document or code editor.
When to use Canvas vs. regular chat:
Use regular chat when you need a quick answer, a short piece of text, or a back-and-forth brainstorm. The chat window is perfect for rapid interactions.
Use Canvas when you're working on something longer — a blog post, an email sequence, a Python script, a business proposal. Anything where you want to see the full document, make targeted edits, and iterate without losing context.
To open Canvas, you can either ask ChatGPT to "use Canvas" in your prompt, or click the Canvas icon when it appears. ChatGPT will also suggest Canvas automatically when it detects you're working on something that would benefit from the editor.
Key Canvas features at a glance:
- Inline editing — highlight any section and ask for changes
- Suggestion mode — ChatGPT proposes edits you can accept or reject
- Version history — go back to any previous version
- Full-screen mode — maximize your workspace
- Shortcuts for common actions — adjust tone, reading level, length
Writing with Canvas
Canvas transforms how you write with AI. Instead of copying and pasting between ChatGPT and a document editor, everything happens in one place.
Inline suggestions — Highlight any paragraph, sentence, or word, and ask ChatGPT to improve it. "Make this more concise." "Add more data to support this point." "Rewrite this for a C-suite audience."
Tone adjustment — Use the built-in tone controls to shift your entire document. Options include Professional, Casual, Friendly, Academic, and Persuasive. This rewrites the content while preserving your core message.
Reading level — Adjust complexity from elementary to expert. Perfect when you need to adapt content for different audiences — a technical report for engineers vs. an executive summary for leadership.
Length control — Make your document shorter or longer with a click. Canvas intelligently condenses or expands content rather than just cutting or padding.
Add polish — Ask Canvas to check for grammar, improve transitions between sections, strengthen your opening paragraph, or add a compelling call-to-action at the end.
The power of Canvas is that every edit is contextual. ChatGPT understands the entire document, so when you ask it to "make the conclusion stronger," it knows what the document is about and crafts a conclusion that ties back to your key points.
Coding with Canvas
Canvas is equally powerful for code. It gives you a proper code editor with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and AI-powered assistance.
Debugging — Paste in code that isn't working and ask Canvas to find and fix the bugs. It highlights the problematic lines and explains what went wrong.
Language conversion — Have a Python script that needs to be in JavaScript? Canvas can convert between programming languages while preserving the logic and adding language-appropriate patterns.
Code review — Ask Canvas to review your code for performance issues, security vulnerabilities, or best practices. It adds inline comments explaining what to improve and why.
Add comments and documentation — Select a function or class and ask Canvas to add docstrings, inline comments, or generate a README.
Refactoring — Highlight a section of code and ask Canvas to make it cleaner, more efficient, or more readable. It restructures the code while maintaining the same functionality.
Canvas keeps the chat context alongside the code, so you can ask questions like "What does line 42 do?" or "Why did you use a dictionary here instead of a list?" and get explanations without leaving the workspace.
Exporting from Canvas
Once your document or code is polished, Canvas makes it easy to get your work out and into whatever format you need.
Export options for documents:
- Copy to clipboard — instant paste into any application
- Markdown — perfect for blogs, GitHub READMEs, and documentation platforms
- PDF — professional format for proposals, reports, and deliverables
- Word (.docx) — for teams that use Microsoft Office
- Google Docs — direct export for Google Workspace users
Export options for code:
- Copy code — with syntax preserved for pasting into your IDE
- Download as file — saves as the appropriate file type (.py, .js, .sql, .html, etc.)
- Multiple files — when Canvas has generated a project with several files, you can download them all
Pro workflow tip: Use Canvas as your drafting environment and your existing tools as the publishing environment. Write your blog post in Canvas, export as Markdown, and paste into your CMS. Draft your proposal in Canvas, export as PDF, and email it to the client. This way, you get AI-powered writing without changing your publishing workflow.