Following the release of GPT-5.2 last week, OpenAI has begun rolling out a new image generation model. The company claims that updated ChatGPT images are four times faster than its predecessor. If you’re a frequent ChatGPT user, you’ll know that OpenAI’s servers can sometimes take a while to create images, especially during peak times and if you’re not paying for ChatGPT Plus. In this regard, any speed improvement is welcome.
The new version is also better at following instructions, including when you want to change something the new model just generated. You can ask the system to add, subtract, combine, shuffle, and even transpose elements. At the same time, OpenAI claims that the update provides better text rendering. This is something that many image models have traditionally struggled with, but according to the company, the new ChatGPT images are able to handle denser and smaller text. As part of today’s template update, OpenAI is additionally adding a dedicated Images section to the ChatGPT sidebar. Here you will find predefined filters and prompts that you can draw inspiration from.
A portrait of Sam Altman, in the style of Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. (OpenAI)
The new ChatGPT images come just as Nano Banana Pro is responsible for a surge in Gemini usage. In October, Google said its chatbot had 650 million users, up from 450 million a few months earlier in July. Nano Banana Pro has proven so popular that the company recently limited free users to just two image generations per day. For OpenAI, a strong response to Nano Banana Pro probably wasn’t as important as making sure it stood out from Gemini 3 Pro, but the ChatGPT images are a big part of why there are 800 million ChatGPT users.
“We believe we are still at the beginning of what image generation can enable,” OpenAI said. “Today’s update is a significant step forward with more to come, from finer-grained edits to richer, more detailed releases in all languages.”
OpenAI is rolling out the new ChatGPT images to all users starting today. If you are one of those people who miss GPT-4o, you will be happy to know that you can continue using the old version of the tool via a custom GPT.
