Intelligent Canvas: Enabling Design-Like Exploratory Visual Data Analysis with Generative AI through Rapid Prototyping, Iteration and Curation

Abstract

Complex data analysis inherently seeks unexpected insights through exploratory visual analysis methods, transcending logical, step-by-step processing. However, existing interfaces such as notebooks and dashboards have limitations in exploration and comparison for visual data analysis. Addressing these limitations, we introduce a "design-like" intelligent canvas environment integrating generative AI into data analysis, offering rapid prototyping, iteration, and comparative visualization management. Our dual contributions include the integration of generative AI components into a canvas interface, and empirical findings from a user study (N=10) evaluating the effectiveness of the canvas interface.