As you may or may not have heard, there are now apps available right inside ChatGPT.
From OpenAI:
“Today we’re introducing a new generation of apps you can chat with, right inside ChatGPT. Developers can start building them today with the new Apps SDK, available in preview.”
Now you can work with apps you use while staying inside your ChatGPT window. I’m all for this that can make me and the team more productive, so I decided to try it out with a common task around here. I wanted to see if I could work with Canva through ChatGPT to create the featured image for this very post.
Testing Canva in ChatGPT
Getting started with apps in ChatGPT is as easy as clicking the plus button in the chat window, clicking explore apps, and then connecting your credentials once you’ve selected your app from the growing list. Once connected you can select the app much like you would set Deep Research mode or any other instructions for your chat. With Canva connected, I gave it a simple prompt: “Create a blog featured image for a post about creating graphics with Canva in ChatGPT. Make the image 16:9 aspect ratio and colorful. You must use the Canva and ChatGPT logos and feature them predominantly.”
What I got back was a carousel of options embedded right in my chat window followed by some follow-up information. The images were indeed bright, but that’s where the fun ends. The samples were both generic and did not really follow directions well. But, it’s only the first try, so I followed up with some edits to the prompt, and each time I was given the same level of mediocrity. Eventually, I got very specific with exactly what I wanted created. I even went so far as to go out and gather the logos of both ChatGPT and Canva to include in my prompt. This prompt went mostly ignored as it attempted to create something usable.
Initial Reactions
Granted this was a single use case, it was a pretty simple one. The output was nowhere near usable. The chat suggests picking the version you like best to open in Canva and edit to your liking. While this could work, I think you’d actually be better off starting from scratch because the amount of text and elements you would need to remove is probably not worth the time and effort. Eventually, this might be something that can give you a head start, but currently it’s just another hope for an easier time ahead.
Bonus Test: Adobe Express
I was still hoping to get a usable image out of ChatGPT and prove that this could be a viable tool. So connected Adobe Express, which is a similar product to Canva. I went through all my original prompts and created what I thought would be the most successful, I uploaded the logo files and sent it off. I was hoping that Adobe might get me closer to a usable design, I was presented with a larger selection of possible templates than I got from Canva. I chose one, and described how I wanted it edited for my needs. The response came back with an explanation that it couldn’t do what I was asking and provided me a link to open my project in Adobe Express. Obviously this isn’t what I wanted to do, but I played along. I clicked the link and when Express opened, I was given the original, unmodified template that I could start working on. Needless to say, that was not what I was going for and I was now 0-2 on the day.
Final Thoughts
What started as a journey of hope quickly turned to disappointment as once again, claims from an AI product fell short in delivering in the real world. Right now these tools are pretty limited in how they can interact with the full app. They aren’t capable of accessing all their features, check out the Adobe Photoshop app in ChatGPT for a good example of this. Over time, I’m sure this will progress and could become useful. I’m even pretty sure that some apps can be useful right now. Apps that include more straight-forward tasks may be better tests, so stay tuned for that. But for now, at least for this use, I think you can save the time and go right to the app you need rather than have ChatGPT try to play in the middle.
NOTE: I never did get my image created with AI and had to do it the old-fashioned way.
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