🔎 Canvas makes ChatGPT more practical for BVFLS work

Have you used ChatGPT’s Canvas feature? I’m not surprised if you haven’t – its launch didn't generate the usual hype.

OpenAI excels in many areas, but let's be honest, their user interface hasn't been one of them. Until Canvas appeared, ChatGPT had just been one loooong chat window since its inception.

That's why the Canvas interface is such a big deal.

And it’s available for Free and Paid users.

Let’s look at what it can do for you.

[Note: Make sure you read to the end and get your (free) Custom GPT that will answer your Canvas questions!]

Canvas is not a new feature; it appeared in late 2024.
But most people don’t know about it.

You can invoke Canvas manually by selecting Canvas from the Tools dropdown menu in the chat box OR by adding “use Canvas” to your prompt.

Canvas will also open automatically by sensing the type of task you are asking ChatGPT to perform. For example, if you write "Help me draft a client email" or "Review this Python code," Canvas just opens. If you ask for a quick fact, it stays in chat mode.

Either way, when Canvas comes to life, it replaces the default ChatGPT chat window with a document editor.

Let’s go with a practical example.

Imagine your firm is not currently using AI. You want to make a case for your managing partner to start. S/he needs to be convinced. So, you might ask ChatGPT:

And you get this:

As you can see, there is now a split-screen layout with the chat on one side and a live editing workspace on the other. 

When you highlight any text in the workspace with your cursor, a toolbar pops up that allows you to:

1/ Ask ChatGPT to edit or explain something
2/ Apply bold or italic font
3/ Change the text to different heading sizes.

And see that pencil icon in the lower left corner of Figure 1? When you click on it, it expands to offer five AI-powered editing tools:

Again, by highlighting any or all of the text you can:
1/ Add emojis 🤷‍♂️
2/ Add a final polish to adjust the clarity, tone, and flow of your text
3/ Use a slider to adjust the reading level from Kindergarten to Graduate School
4/ Use a slider to adjust the length from shortest to longest
5/ Suggest edits (to your writing)

Finally, the six icons in the upper right corner (see Figure 2) allow you to:
1/ Track your changes
2/ Show a previous version
3/ Show the next version
4/ Copy the text
5/ Download the text to a PDF, Word, or Markdown file
6/ Create a link to share the text (but not the chat messages)

While any/all of this editing is going on, the chat window on the left remains open, so you can chat with it to give higher-level directions while working on your document.

The split-screen setup allows simultaneous chat and text editing, much like working with a live collaborator. That’s a big shift from traditional AI chats. (Note: Claude has a similar feature called Artifacts.)

Think how this might speed up completing various BVFLS tasks like drafting engagement letters, summarizing third-party economic overview or industry outlook reports, iteratively building valuation reports section by section, writing expert testimony outlines, or modeling data queries in Python or Excel-like code.

I created a Canvas Tutor GPT for you to further showcase this tool!
Click on the link, and it should add this Custom GPT to your ChatGPT sidebar.
Then, ask your questions about how Canvas works, and it should be able to answer!

This is a new thing I’m trying.

1/ Let me know how it works for you.
2/ Let me know if you would like more of these.

The Canvas feature is a shift in how users interact with ChatGPT, bringing more nuanced collaboration into conversations. It gives BVFLS professionals – especially solos – a convenient way to combine document drafting, reasoning, formatting, and revision in one place when speed and flexibility matter.

Plus, OpenAI has taken AI-powered editing tools that work well and built them directly into ChatGPT, making it just good enough that paying for other editing/coding tools becomes harder to justify.

Canvas isn’t just a new feature — it’s a smarter way to work. Try it on your next BVFLS task ... you might never go back to plain chat (except for those one-off questions).

That’s my take on this ... what do you think?!

And thanks for reading ... I appreciate you.

QUESTIONS: Any questions about today’s newsletter? Email me, and I will respond directly and/or discuss it in the AI for BV Forum. Otherwise, I’ll be back on Wednesday, August 6.

Speaking of the Forum, it is your companion guide to this newsletter. A lot is happening in the AI for BV world ... more than I can share in a twice-monthly newsletter. So, I regularly post short tips, tricks, or hacks that will save you time, money, and tears! Most of you are already members. 🙏 But if you are not a Forum member …

ASSISTANCE: Identifying and implementing the right AI tools for your practice might require time you don’t have ... or even where to start if you did. I can help. Schedule a short call (20 minutes) to discuss your needs and how we might work together on this.

REMINDER: You have full access to the Archive of newsletters that were published before you subscribed. Also, there is the Resource Guide to accelerate your AI IQ. It’s a Featured Post on the AI for BV Home Page.

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Aug 11: BVFLS 3.0: Harnessing AI to transform your BVFLS practice

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Aug 13: ChatGPT’s “Canvas” makes BVFLS work more practical
Sep 10 / Oct 15 / Nov 12 / Dec 10: Topics TBD

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