Google has expanded its Canvas feature to all US users running AI Mode in Search, according to The Verge AI. The rollout marks a significant step in how Google is weaving a full-featured workspace directly into its search experience, no separate app required.
What Canvas Does in AI Mode
Canvas opens a dedicated panel alongside your AI chat, giving you a workspace that pulls on live Search data. Here’s what you can now build directly inside a Google Search session:
- Creative writing – draft documents, stories, and structured content
- Coding and prototypes – spin up an interactive prototype of a tool you’re building
- AI-generated dashboards – get a visual layout of information tied to your prompt
- Organized plans – structure and develop ideas in real-time
The right-side panel displays the output live as Google generates it, keeping your chat context and your workspace visible at the same time.
How to Access It
The Verge AI notes the steps are straightforward: open AI Mode in Search, tap the “plus” button inside the chat window, and select Canvas. From there, describe what you want, and the workspace populates on the right.
How It Got Here
Canvas didn’t start in Search. Google first launched it inside the Gemini app as a real-time document and code creation tool. It then quietly tested a version inside AI Mode, but with a narrow scope: travel planning only. This latest expansion blows that open to creative and technical tasks, making Canvas a much more general-purpose tool.
What stands out here is the strategic shift. Google is no longer just answering queries; it’s positioning Search as a place where users build things. That’s a meaningful departure from the traditional search-and-click model, and it puts Google in more direct competition with AI-native tools like ChatGPT’s canvas and Anthropic’s Artifacts.
Availability and Limits
- Who: All US users with access to AI Mode in Search
- Language: English only, for now
- Pricing: Tied to AI Mode access (no separate fee mentioned)
- Geographic scope: United States only at launch
The English-only, US-only launch suggests Google is treating this as a measured rollout. Broader language and regional support will likely follow, though Google hasn’t confirmed a timeline. For now, US users have a genuinely capable AI workspace sitting inside the tool they already use dozens of times a day.