OpenAI's Images 2.6 lets ChatGPT generate animated GIFs with speed and frame editing
ChatGPT can now create animated GIFs from a text prompt or an uploaded photo, with controls for playback speed and individual frames. The feature ships with OpenAI's new Images 2.6 model, which OpenAI says also generates images faster. OpenAI says users now generate over 4 billion images per week across ChatGPT and its API.
OpenAI has added native GIF creation to ChatGPT, rolling it out alongside its new Images 2.6 model. Users can generate an animated GIF from a text prompt or from a photo uploaded to the chatbot, adjust the animation speed, edit individual frames, and share the result, as reported by The Verge.
What changed
Before this update, ChatGPT could not natively generate GIFs in a single step. OpenAI's example uses the prompt "can you make a gif of a cat dancing?" and returns a GIF with options to change the playback speed and view it frame by frame. Speed and frame edits happen directly inside ChatGPT.
OpenAI says the Images 2.6 update also enables faster image generation in ChatGPT.
Availability
- ChatGPT and Codex: Images 2.6 is rolling out to all ChatGPT and Codex users across web, desktop, and mobile apps.
- API: OpenAI is launching GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and Sunburst in its API, for faster and higher-quality image generation.
- Pricing: API pricing for the new models is not yet disclosed.
Usage figures
OpenAI says users now generate over 4 billion images per week across ChatGPT and its API. The company reported 3 billion per week in September.
What this means
GIF output moves from a multi-step workaround to a single prompt inside ChatGPT. Playback speed and frame-level editing sit in the same interface as generation, so a user can refine a result in the chat without leaving it.
The rollout to Codex users alongside the ChatGPT apps means the new image model is available in both products from the start.
For developers, OpenAI is offering two API models, GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and Sunburst, and describes them in terms of faster and higher-quality image generation. Pricing and per-model specifications are not yet disclosed, so teams cannot yet compare cost or quality between the two. The 4 billion images per week figure is OpenAI's own claim and covers ChatGPT and the API combined.
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