Use canvas chat

Canvas chat is the live text room for the current canvas

Canvas chat lets people talk while they are working in the same canvas. Use it when the conversation is about the current canvas as a whole, not one exact object or page. It is useful during reviews, workshops, walkthroughs, and support conversations where people need to coordinate without leaving the canvas.

Chat is not a replacement for comments. A comment stays attached to the visual work. Chat stays attached to the live canvas conversation. Use chat to move the session forward; use comments to preserve decisions and tasks.

For the broader collaboration guide, see Use canvas chat.

Team chat is also separate from AI Studio and Object Chat. Team chat is for people who are collaborating on the current canvas. Object Chat is for asking AI about one supported canvas item. AI Studio is for creating new AI output from prompts, selected objects, files, links, or voice input.

Availability

Chat permission follows the canvas collaboration boundary. Do not assume every workspace member can chat on every canvas; item permission still matters.

A guest or external collaborator can use chat when the shared canvas gives them the required access and the workspace allows the feature. That does not make them a workspace member, and it does not give them Share or edit controls.

Open chat

Open the canvas and select the Team chat control in the header or collaboration area. Chat opens as a floating panel so you can keep the canvas visible.

If the panel opens over important content, move or close it while editing. During live review, keep chat visible only when it is helping the group. A floating chat panel should not cover the work being reviewed.

Use chat during live work

Canvas chat is strongest for live coordination:

1. Tell reviewers which page or area to open.
2. Share a short link or reference during a call.
3. Confirm that an upload, export, or edit is done.
4. Ask whether the group is ready to move on.
5. Capture a short note that does not need a comment anchor.

Use clear references when the canvas is large. "Here" and "this one" stop being helpful when collaborators are on different pages or zoom levels. Use page names, object names, comment links, or direct mentions when the location matters.

If a chat message itself needs to be referenced later, use the message menu to copy a message link where available. A chat message link opens the canvas and focuses the message in Team chat for people who already have access. It does not grant access by itself; private links and share links explains that distinction.

Move decisions out of chat

Chat is easy to scan during a session and easy to forget afterward. If the message contains a decision, request, owner, approval, or blocker, move it into a more durable place before the session ends.

This is the difference between a useful live session and a meeting nobody can reconstruct.

Chat, comments, and calls

Use chat when the group is typing around the same canvas. Use audio/video calls when voice is faster. Use comments when feedback must stay attached to an object, page, or file.

During a call, chat is useful for side notes and links. During async review, comments are usually better than chat because they notify the right person and keep the context attached.

During live collaboration, presence and follow behavior can help people understand which page or area a chat message refers to. If a message depends on location, pair it with a page link, object link, comment link, or clear page name.

Chat with guests

Guests can participate only when the shared canvas allows the required access. A guest may be able to comment or chat without becoming a workspace member. That is expected.

If a guest cannot see chat, check the share permission, whether they completed the guest entry flow, and whether the canvas context allows chat. Do not invite the guest to the whole workspace just to fix one missing chat button unless they truly need workspace membership.

Troubleshoot canvas chat

If chat is missing, check the canvas permission first. If you only have view access, ask the owner or person who shared the canvas to grant comment or edit access where appropriate.

If messages feel delayed, confirm that live presence is working. If presence, cursors, and chat are all stale, the problem is likely connection or account state rather than chat alone.

If a chat message points to work you cannot find later, search the canvas, check comments, and ask the group to record the final decision in a comment or task. Chat is for live coordination, not the final record.

If a copied chat message link opens the canvas but does not focus the message, confirm the message still exists, the recipient has chat access, and they opened the link with the account that has canvas access.