An ultra-fast canvas that stays calm
Mind maps in ChatGPT,
on a board where the branches become the plan.
For founders and teams: ChatGPT builds the whole map on a Storyflow board in one request, then turns the branches you keep into tasks beside it.
Creatives working for these brands already got early access
- Red Bull
- Canon
- Artlist
- Porsche
See how easy it is to get started
Watch a real project come together, from a blank board to a finished plan, clicked through step by step.
Start from a ready-made template
Pick a board to see what you can build, then let AI fill it in. Every template is a real, editable starting point on the same infinite canvas.
Mind Map
Branch one central idea out into themes and sub-points, then drag the connections around until the structure makes sense.
Can ChatGPT make a mind map?
Yes, ChatGPT can make a mind map: with the Storyflow plugin it builds the whole map on a shared board in one request, a centre, its branches and their sub-branches, each a card your team can drag, rewrite and connect. Storyflow is an AI visual workspace that turns a ChatGPT brainstorm into a mind map on one infinite canvas, next to the notes, tasks, tables and documents the map leads to. ChatGPT does the thinking on its own model, so the map spends none of your Storyflow AI credits.
On its own, ChatGPT is good at the thinking part of a mind map. Give it a topic and it writes a tidy outline in seconds: a centre, five branches, four points under each. Ask for a picture and it can draw one, or write code that another tool turns into a diagram. What it cannot leave you is a map you can work on. The outline is text, the picture is flat, and every change means asking again and getting a new version. To share it, someone redraws it in a mind-map app by hand.
Connected to Storyflow, ChatGPT sends the map in one request: the central topic and up to 60 branches and sub-branches, each a label of three to eight words. Storyflow lays it out, gives each branch its own colour and joins every card to its parent with a line, in one of three shapes: balanced to the left and right, opening to the right, or opening downward like a pyramid. Each node is an ordinary note card. For ideas that need a sentence or two each, ask for a constellation instead, a web of fuller notes around one idea. ChatGPT can start from a topic, from notes you paste into the chat, from the cards already on the board, or from a PDF or Word file on the board.
Here is an example. Fennel, a three-person skincare brand, plans a launch for 12 March. The founder types: "Make a mind map of the Fennel launch on the Launch board: audience, product, channels, launch week and risks, four points under each." ChatGPT builds one centre, 5 branches and 20 sub-branches: 26 cards joined by 25 lines. On Monday she adds two cards of her own under Channels, a podcast and a pop-up. Then she asks: "Turn the Channels and Launch week branches into tasks, due 5 March." ChatGPT reads the map, her two new cards included, and builds two walls of task cards beside it, 6 under Channels and 4 under Launch week, each dated 5 March. She assigns every task to a teammate herself.
A mind map works when every branch answers the same question about the centre. Put the project or the decision in the centre, not a theme: "Fennel launch, March" maps better than "marketing". Hold it to five to seven branches, because past that nobody takes the map in at a glance. Write each node as a short noun phrase, so the map reads like an index, and keep the detail in a note beside it. Stop at two levels of branches for a planning map: a third level usually means one branch has become its own map, and it reads better as a second map on the same board.
Now the limits. Storyflow's map tool always builds a whole map, so asking ChatGPT to "add to" a map puts a second map on the board; to grow the one you have, ask for one new card joined to its branch, or add it by hand. ChatGPT has no tool that deletes cards, so you remove a spare map yourself. Through the plugin it does not generate pictures, a photo attached in the chat does not reach Storyflow, and it cannot read the comments on a board. Storyflow exports boards as PNG, JPEG or PDF, not as a mind-map file for another app.
Ultra fast from brief to board
Four steps from a topic to a map, and from the map to the work.
The map takes one request. The four steps are mostly about what happens to it afterwards.
01
Install Storyflow from the plugin directory
Open the Storyflow listing in ChatGPT's plugin directory and select Install plugin. Sign in to Storyflow when asked, then choose which projects ChatGPT may use.
02
Ask for the map with its centre and branches
In a chat, type @ and pick Storyflow, or choose it from the + menu. Name the board, the centre and the branches you already know. For example: "Make a mind map of our spring launch on the Launch board: audience, product, channels and risks, four points under each." The whole map appears on the board, coloured by branch.
03
Grow it and reshape it
Drag cards, rewrite labels and draw new lines by hand. To add a branch through the chat, ask for one card joined to the branch it belongs to, such as "Add retail partners under Channels", then drag it into place. For a bigger change, ask for a fresh map and keep the better one.
04
Turn the branches into tasks
Ask ChatGPT to turn a branch into a to-do card or a wall of task cards beside the map, with the dates you give it. Assign each task to a person in Storyflow, then share the board with a view-only link.
The map, your notes, the tasks and the team.
ChatGPT draws the map in one go. Storyflow keeps it on the board where the rest of the project already lives.
The whole map at once
A centre and up to 60 branches
ChatGPT sends the centre and every branch in one request, and Storyflow lays them out, colours each branch and draws the lines. Every node is a note card, so nobody has to redraw the map to change it.
See the mind map to project plan guide →
From your notes
A map from what is already on the board
Point ChatGPT at the loose notes from a meeting, a brief in PDF or Word on the board, or a list you paste into the chat. It reads them first and maps what they actually say, in your words.
See the whiteboard in ChatGPT →
Branches into tasks
The branch you keep becomes the work
Ask for a branch as a to-do card, one line per point, or as a wall of task cards with the dates you name. The tasks sit beside the map, so anyone can see which idea each one came from.
See to-do lists with ChatGPT →
Any assistant
The same map from ChatGPT or Claude
Claude, Gemini and Grok reach the same Storyflow boards through one address, https://mcp.storyflow.so/mcp. Your cofounder can read the map in Claude while you build it in ChatGPT.
See mind maps with Claude →ChatGPT maps the idea. Your Storyflow credits stay untouched.
The plugin runs on ChatGPT's own model and your ChatGPT plan, so a map ChatGPT builds uses no Storyflow AI credits. An invited free Storyflow account can make 25 plugin actions a week, reset every Monday (UTC). Plus, Pro and Max have no weekly limit. Storyflow is paid-only during early access, with plans from $7.99 a month billed annually ($9.99 monthly), and anyone a paid member invites to a board joins free.
No Storyflow AI credits spent on maps ChatGPT builds
25 plugin actions a week on an invited free account
No weekly limit on Plus, Pro and Max
Cofounders and teammates you invite join the board free
You choose which projects ChatGPT may open, and whether it may change them
Built for people with taste
Where a mind map from a chat usually stops.
The map is rarely the problem. Moving it, sharing it and acting on it is.
The brainstorm
A good outline that nobody can move
Cards, not a picture: Each branch is a note card on the board. Drag one to another branch, rewrite its label or draw a line to a card elsewhere on the board, all by hand.
Three shapes to choose from: Balanced to the left and right for a brainstorm, opening to the right for a plan read like a page, or opening downward like a pyramid for a structure with one top.
Fuller notes when a label is not enough: A map node holds three to eight words. When each idea needs a sentence or two, ask for a constellation, a web of fuller notes around one idea.
A template to start from: Ask ChatGPT to put Storyflow's Mindmap Template on the board and rewrite its example cards for your project, when you want a finished look from the first minute.
The follow-through
A map that never turns into work
Tasks from a branch: Ask ChatGPT to turn one branch into a to-do card, or several branches into walls of task cards. It reads the map first, including any cards you added by hand.
Dates you stated, nothing invented: A task card takes a due date when you give one, such as "due 5 March". ChatGPT does not guess dates you never mentioned.
People assigned by you: ChatGPT cannot set who owns a task. Assign each one to a teammate in Storyflow; they see it when they open the board.
What changed since Monday: Ask what changed on the board this week. ChatGPT lists the cards added, edited, moved or deleted, and who did it.
The meeting
Five people looking at one person's chat
One board on the screen: Presentation mode goes fullscreen and steps through the board one wall, note, image or document at a time, so the map can lead the meeting.
A link for whoever was not there: Share the board from Storyflow with a view-only link. It opens in a browser with no account; to comment, a person signs in.
Pictures beside the branches: A photo attached in the chat does not reach Storyflow, so ask ChatGPT for the "Add your photos" link. It works for 15 minutes and takes up to 200 pictures from your phone or computer.
Read back later: A month on, ask ChatGPT what the map says. It reads the cards and the lines between them, so it can summarise each branch or compare it with the tasks beside it.
Explore templates for your project
Every template opens as a real, editable board on the infinite canvas. Pick the closest fit and make it your own.
Mind Map
Branch one central idea out into themes and sub-points, then drag the connections around until the structure makes sense.
One app instead of five
Storyflow in ChatGPT, ChatGPT alone, or Xmind.
Storyflow and Xmind both keep a map ChatGPT can build and read. Xmind lets ChatGPT add branches to a map it already made and has a free plan; Storyflow keeps the tasks and the rest of the project beside the map.
Storyflow in ChatGPT
Recommended
Mind map built from one chat request
Every branch editable by hand afterwards
ChatGPT reads the map back later
Branches turned into task columns on the same canvas
Slide decks and charts on the same board
ChatGPT adds branches inside a map it already made
A tier you can use without paying
ChatGPT on its own
Mind map built from one chat request
Every branch editable by hand afterwards
ChatGPT reads the map back later
Branches turned into task columns on the same canvas
Slide decks and charts on the same board
ChatGPT adds branches inside a map it already made
A tier you can use without paying
Xmind in ChatGPT
Mind map built from one chat request
Every branch editable by hand afterwards
ChatGPT reads the map back later
Branches turned into task columns on the same canvas
Slide decks and charts on the same board
ChatGPT adds branches inside a map it already made
A tier you can use without paying
What creators are saying
Join early creators getting structured workspaces and AI that remembers their projects
“Storyflow has sped up my workflow by at least 3x, which means more flow state and more projects I can actually ship. It truly changed the way me and my team create.”
Reilin Joey
Director & YouTuber
“One prompt gets me a structured board. But the tactics are my favorite. I run my YouTube scripts through them and my intros and retention got better. It's amazing.”
Justkay
YouTuber & Freelance Filmmaker
“I used to juggle five apps to plan a project. Now I describe what I am making and get boards, lists, and a schedule. All in one place.”
George
@fernwehchronicles
Mind maps with ChatGPT: questions
What founders and teams ask before a map goes in front of the rest of the team.
Yes. On its own ChatGPT writes the map as an outline or draws a flat picture of it. With the Storyflow plugin it builds the map on a shared board in one request: a centre and up to 60 branches and sub-branches, each a short label on its own card, coloured by branch and joined by lines. Your team drags, rewrites and extends the cards without asking ChatGPT again.
Storyflow is our pick for teams that want the map to turn into work, and it is our product. The basis: ChatGPT builds the whole map in one request on a board that also holds the to-do cards, task columns, tables and decks that come out of it, with no Storyflow AI credits spent. Xmind, also in ChatGPT's plugin directory, suits a mind-map-only workflow, because ChatGPT can create, read and edit Xmind maps from the chat, adding branches to a map it already made (Xmind's ChatGPT guide, October 2026).
Open the Storyflow listing in ChatGPT's plugin directory and select Install plugin. Sign in to Storyflow, choose which projects ChatGPT may use, and decide whether it may make changes. In a chat, type @ and pick Storyflow, or choose it from the + menu. Availability depends on your ChatGPT plan, workspace and region, and in a Business or Enterprise workspace an admin can turn plugins on or off.
Up to 60 branches and sub-branches in one request, around one centre, each a label of three to eight words. Most planning maps read best with 15 to 30. For a bigger topic, ask for two or three maps on the same Storyflow board, one per big question, and draw a line between their centres by hand or ask ChatGPT to connect them.
Not as part of the map layout. Storyflow's map tool builds a whole map each time, so asking for more puts a second map on the board. To grow the one you have, ask ChatGPT for one new card joined by a line to the branch it belongs to, then drag it into place, or add the card yourself. ChatGPT cannot delete cards, so you remove a spare map by hand.
Yes. Paste the notes into the chat, or point ChatGPT at the cards already on a Storyflow board, or at a PDF or Word file on the board, and it reads them before it maps. It keeps your wording in the labels where it fits in three to eight words. A photo of handwritten notes attached in the chat stays in ChatGPT; the file itself does not reach Storyflow.
Yes. Ask ChatGPT to turn a branch into a to-do card, one line per point, or several branches into walls of task cards beside the map. Give it the dates, such as "due 5 March", and it puts them on the task cards; it does not invent dates you never mentioned. Assigning each task to a person is done by you in Storyflow.
Three: balanced, with branches to the left and right of the centre; opening to the right, which reads like a page; and opening downward like a pyramid. For ideas that need a sentence or two each, ask for a constellation, a web of fuller notes around one idea. For one ring of small things around a hub, such as pictures or colours, ask for an orbit.
Yes. ChatGPT reads the cards on a Storyflow board and the lines between them, so it can tell which point sits under which branch. Ask it to summarise each branch, find the gaps, compare the map with the tasks beside it, or report what changed on the board this week and who changed it. Reading needs no changes permission.
It cannot grow a map inside its layout, delete cards, read board comments or generate pictures through the plugin. A photo attached in the chat does not reach Storyflow; use the "Add your photos" link instead. Storyflow exports boards as PNG, JPEG or PDF, not as a file another mind-map app opens, and it runs in the browser with no desktop or phone app.
No. The plugin runs on ChatGPT's own model and your ChatGPT plan, so a map ChatGPT builds uses no Storyflow AI credits. An invited free Storyflow account can make 25 plugin actions a week, reset every Monday (UTC), and Plus, Pro and Max have no weekly limit. Storyflow is paid-only during early access, from $7.99 a month billed annually ($9.99 monthly).
Yes. The map is a set of ordinary cards and lines on a Storyflow board, so it stays after the chat ends and anyone with edit access can change it. On paid plans people edit the board at the same time. Share it with a view-only link that opens with no account; to comment, a person signs in, and anyone a paid member invites joins free.
The map is the same; the way in differs. ChatGPT installs Storyflow from its plugin directory. Claude adds Storyflow as a custom connector with the address https://mcp.storyflow.so/mcp, as do Gemini and Grok. Both assistants use the same map tool with the same 60-branch limit, so you can build a map in ChatGPT and have a teammate read it in Claude.
Only the ones you choose. When you sign in, Storyflow asks whether ChatGPT may use all your projects or only the ones you pick, and whether it may make changes; read access is always on. You can also allow documents outside projects. Every connection ends after 30 days, and ChatGPT then asks you to sign in again.
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Mind map to project plan
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Map the idea in the chat. Do the work on the board.
A whole map in one request, branches your team can move, and the tasks right beside them.