Google made Canvas available in AI Mode to U.S. users in Search.
The move, revealed in a March 4 blog post, could significantly increase use of the tool, which opens a dedicated workspace where users can organize plans and projects in a panel alongside their chat with the Gemini generative AI chatbot.
The tech giant originally released the Canvas feature in the Gemini app a year ago, before it launched it a few months later as part of Google’s Labs experimental program, where it appeared on desktop browsers.
Now, as well as being more widely accessible, Google says it is more capable, too, highlighting “newly added support for creative writing and coding tasks.”
The added capabilities build on Google’s previously suggested uses for Canvas in AI Mode. These included creating study guides and trip planning, in which users collated information from the internet, along with relevant uploads (such as class notes and course notes for study guides). Users can then reference, save and update the relevant project when necessary.
Canvas also lets users create research reports that can be transformed into apps, games, or interactive quizzes; rewrite drafts; and generate code that brings users’ ideas to life as shareable apps or games.
To use Canvas in Search, U.S. users can select the new Canvas option from the tool menu in AI Mode and describe what they want to create. This will deliver a working prototype in the Canvas side panel that pulls together information from the internet and Google’s own Knowledge Graph.
From there, if they are building an app, users can test it, toggle to view the underlying code and fine-tune the functionality using chats with Gemini.
Google did not say when users outside the U.S will be able to use Canvas in AI mode in Search.