OpenAI updates its ChatGPT Canvas functionality with Generative UI capabilities
Anthropic Claude Artifacts a clear inspiration
The newly released Generative UI capabilities in ChatGPT’s Canvas functionality serve as a strong reminder of the benefits that robust competition brings to the GenAI space. This feature, long requested by the developer community after witnessing its success in Anthropic’s Claude Chat interface, allows developers to describe the user interface they want to build and see it displayed directly in the Chat Canvas. While similar functionality has been available in Claude for several months, OpenAI has now matched - and, in some areas, surpassed - it.
The system enables developers to generate UIs through text prompts in popular front-end development technologies such as React, HTML, and CSS. This makes it easier to quickly ideate and prototype potential interfaces connected to back-end code. The primary target audience is clearly developers, though UX/UI designers need not worry just yet - the generated designs remain rudimentary, and our testing revealed some early-release glitches. Nevertheless, the potential for democratizing UX design is notable.
OpenAI’s implementation goes beyond Claude’s current capabilities by allowing users to directly edit the generated code within the interface and see the results of those edits in real time. This feature, likely inspired by Vercel’s v0 product, creates an important feedback loop for designing user interfaces. While the resulting visual designs are not yet as polished as those produced by Claude or v0, OpenAI is expected to continue investing in this area.
Future enhancements could include integration with source control providers, graphic design tools, and other workflow-critical platforms, which would fill gaps in the GenAI-assisted code generation process. Even in its current state, however, these capabilities are highly usable and represent a significant value-add for ChatGPT’s developer audience. This release also sends a clear signal to Anthropic and other competitors: OpenAI is equally focused on product innovation as it is on advancing foundational models. By steadily building a strong product portfolio, OpenAI is creating a competitive edge that may prove difficult to challenge. These developments are exciting to watch, and it will be fascinating to see how Anthropic - and, to a lesser extent, Vercel - respond to this growing challenge.