Collaborative Canvas: A Tool for Exploring LLM Use in Group Ideation Tasks

Abstract

We present the Collaborative Canvas, a prototype tool for exploring ways for groups to interact with large language models (LLMs) in ideation tasks. Collaborative Canvas provides a shared, graphical canvas in which multiple parties – human and LLM – can share ideas in the form of virtual “sticky notes” that can be moved around the canvas. The development of Collaborative Canvas raised numerous issues about the role of an LLM in group interactions: is it useful, what role does it play within the group’s workflow, and how do people interact with generated content? A preliminary examination of the Collaborative Canvas shows that users found the generative capabilities to be useful, although they preferred to review and filter generated content before sharing it with the group. Users also speculated that the role of the AI could extend into facilitating group brainstorming rather than being confined to idea generation. Our work motivates the study of human-AI co-creation in group settings beyond dyadic interactions.