OpenAI gives ChatGPT a visual makeover with interactive charts, calculators and diagrams

ChatGPT is about to become much more visual. OpenAI is rolling out a new Intelligent UI alongside GPT-6, bringing interactive visuals directly into conversations. Instead of relying mainly on text and static images, ChatGPT can generate elements such as tappable buttons, custom calculators, interactive charts and editable graphs.

OpenAI says the main goal is to make complex topics easier to understand. The feature could also make ChatGPT more useful for everyday tasks, from planning trips and recipes to learning how things work.

ChatGPT can create diagrams as you ask

During a demonstration for journalists, OpenAI showed how Intelligent UI can turn abstract questions into visual explanations. For example, a college student asking how an aircraft wing generates lift could ask ChatGPT to “explore how an airplane wing generates lift”. The chatbot can then create diagrams designed to explain the forces and processes involved. OpenAI product manager Aarush Selvan said ChatGPT has traditionally been a “predominantly” text-based interface, but the company wants to help people get things done rather than simply provide written answers. That means the response itself can become a tool the user interacts with.

From calculators to maps and interactive charts

The visual system is not limited to educational diagrams. OpenAI demonstrated examples including recipe visuals, bicycle-mechanics diagrams, maps for multi-day hiking trips and a personal savings calculator. Interactive charts and editable graphs can also be generated when they make sense for the task. This could be particularly useful when information is easier to understand visually. Instead of reading several paragraphs explaining a trend, for example, users could interact with a chart and explore the information directly. The feature also appears designed to adapt to the user's needs rather than force every conversation into the same format.

Users can control how visual ChatGPT becomes

Not everyone will want every answer filled with graphics. OpenAI says Intelligent UI will therefore be customisable. Users who prefer traditional text-based responses will be able to reduce the amount of visual content appearing in conversations.

The rollout is global with GPT-6 for Pro, Plus, Business and Enterprise users. It will arrive on Thursday for users on the free and lower-cost Go tiers. The bigger shift, however, is not simply that ChatGPT can display more graphics. OpenAI is changing the idea of what an AI answer can be. Instead of receiving text and then opening another app to calculate, plot, map or visualise something, users can increasingly do those things inside the conversation itself.