Opal Chat and Canvas
The problem these features solve
Section titled “The problem these features solve”Working across multiple Optimizely products means constantly switching contexts. You might need to generate a campaign brief, build a landing page component, create a presentation, and analyze a spreadsheet — all in a single workday. Without a unified interface, each task requires a different tool and a different mental model.
Opal Chat gives you a single natural language interface that works across every connected product. Canvas extends that interface into a collaborative workspace where you and Opal create, edit, and export digital assets together.
Opal Chat
Section titled “Opal Chat”Chat is the conversational interface where you interact with Opal using plain language. You ask questions, provide instructions, upload files, and invoke agents — all without needing to understand the underlying systems.
Accessing Chat
Section titled “Accessing Chat”You can reach Opal Chat through three entry points:
- Opal website at opal.optimizely.com — Opens directly with product instance selection
- Optimizely Admin Center at home.optimizely.com — Select your organization, then click Opal
- Global navigation bar — Click “Ask Opal” from any supported Optimizely product
What Chat can do
Section titled “What Chat can do”Content creation and editing:
- Generate original images with customizable aspect ratios (1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 9:16)
- Edit existing images by providing URL links
- Request up to four image variations per prompt
Research and analysis:
- Ideate and brainstorm concepts
- Research topics online and summarize findings
- Translate content and adjust tone
- Analyze uploaded documents, images, or spreadsheets
Platform guidance:
- Answer questions about Optimizely features and configuration
- Walk you through platform tasks step-by-step
- Provide links to relevant documentation
Chat interface features
Section titled “Chat interface features”The chat interface provides tools for managing your conversations:
- Search — Find previous conversations across your chat history
- New chat — Start a fresh thread when switching topics
- Thread management — Copy thread IDs, rename threads, or delete conversations
- Response actions — Copy responses, regenerate outputs, or provide feedback
- File upload — Attach documents, images, and spreadsheets for analysis
- Agent mention — Invoke specific agents by clicking “Mention Agent” or typing
@AGENT_ID - Product instance selector — Switch between connected Optimizely product instances
Invoking agents in Chat
Section titled “Invoking agents in Chat”You can bring specialized agents into a conversation three ways:
- Click Mention Agent in the chat input area
- Type
@followed by the agent’s identifier - Select from the list of available agents
The agent displays its execution steps and delivers results as inline text or canvas elements.
Writing effective prompts
Section titled “Writing effective prompts”The way you phrase your request directly affects the quality of Opal’s response. Follow these principles:
Be specific, not vague
Section titled “Be specific, not vague”Instead of a broad request, include the details that matter:
- Vague: “Tell me about marketing”
- Specific: “Generate a list of content marketing strategies for ecommerce businesses targeting Gen Z consumers”
Provide context
Section titled “Provide context”Give Opal background about your target audience, campaign objectives, and brand requirements. The more relevant detail you include, the more useful the output.
Specify the format
Section titled “Specify the format”Tell Opal whether you want a list, a table, a paragraph, a code snippet, or a structured brief. This prevents wasted iterations reformatting output.
Iterate and refine
Section titled “Iterate and refine”Prompt engineering is iterative. Start with a clear first request, evaluate the response, and refine your follow-up to get closer to what you need. Reference past campaigns or reports as templates to guide Opal’s understanding.
Break complex tasks into steps
Section titled “Break complex tasks into steps”Rather than asking for an entire campaign plan in one prompt, break it into stages: audience research, messaging framework, content calendar, and creative brief. Each step builds on the last.
Canvas
Section titled “Canvas”Canvas is a collaborative workspace where you and Opal create and manage interactive digital assets. A single canvas holds one asset (a document, code component, spreadsheet, or presentation). A space is the complete workspace containing one or more canvases within a chat thread.
Supported formats
Section titled “Supported formats”Opal Canvas supports six MIME types, each with specific export options:
| Format | MIME type | Use cases | Export options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markdown | text/markdown | Documents, briefs, emails, articles | Word, PDF, text, RTF, markdown |
| HTML | text/html | Web pages, email templates | HTML, PDF, text |
| React | application/x-reactjs | React components, UI elements | JavaScript, JSX |
| Next.js | application/x-nextjs | Next.js pages and components | JavaScript, JSX |
| CSV | text/csv | Data tables, spreadsheets | CSV, Excel, PDF |
| PowerPoint | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint | Presentations, slide decks | PPTX, PDF |
Creating a canvas
Section titled “Creating a canvas”You can create canvases three ways:
- Implicitly — Use keywords like “make,” “create,” or “write” combined with a format. Opal infers that a canvas is needed. Example: “Create a marketing brief for our product launch.”
- Explicitly — Include “in a canvas” or “using canvas” in your prompt. Example: “Draft a blog post as a canvas.”
- Directly — After Opal generates content in chat, click Edit in canvas to open it in the canvas workspace.
After creation, the canvas card displays the name and MIME type. Click Expand to open the split-screen interface.
Collaborating in Canvas
Section titled “Collaborating in Canvas”Inside the expanded canvas, you can:
- Edit content using the rich text editor (for markdown) or code editor (for HTML, React, Next.js)
- Request real-time AI assistance through the adjacent chat panel
- Access version history and revert to previous states
- Modify metadata and asset properties
Opal can help with content generation, text refinement, summarization, code modification, formatting, and translation — all within the canvas context.
Canvas interface by format
Section titled “Canvas interface by format”- Markdown canvases — Formatted text with controls for undo/redo, copying raw markdown, and downloading
- Code canvases (HTML, React, Next.js) — Split-view with code editor and live preview
- CSV canvases — Table editor with standard spreadsheet controls
- PowerPoint canvases — Slide previews with navigation between slides
Managing canvases
Section titled “Managing canvases”- List all canvases — Ask Opal to display all canvases in your current space
- Access previous canvases — Navigate to the original chat thread, click Expand, and use the dropdown to switch between canvases
- Export — Download assets in the formats listed above, or ask Opal to provide the content directly in chat
1. A marketer needs to create a React component for a product hero section and preview it before exporting. Which canvas MIME type should they use?
The application/x-reactjs MIME type provides a split-view canvas with a code editor and live preview, which is ideal for building and previewing React components before exporting as JavaScript or JSX.
The application/x-reactjs MIME type provides a split-view canvas with a code editor and live preview, which is ideal for building and previewing React components before exporting as JavaScript or JSX.
Review this topic →2. A user wants Opal to generate a campaign brief but does not specify 'in a canvas.' What determines whether Opal creates a canvas?
Opal supports implicit canvas creation. When a prompt includes keywords like 'make,' 'create,' or 'write' combined with format types, Opal infers that a canvas workspace is appropriate for the request.
Opal supports implicit canvas creation. When a prompt includes keywords like 'make,' 'create,' or 'write' combined with format types, Opal infers that a canvas workspace is appropriate for the request.
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