OpenAI launches Images 2.6 with GIF animation and faster image generation

Faster generation and two API models

According to OpenAI, Images 2.6 generates images 50% faster than before. In the API, developers can choose between two models: GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst.

OpenAI says Flare can produce an image in as little as six seconds when quality is set to low. The company also says Flare improves layout quality for posters, product imagery and other professional visuals. Sunburst is aimed at work that needs more detail and precision. According to OpenAI, it delivers higher-quality generation and even greater image consistency across edits when quality is set to medium or high.

OpenAI also gave usage figures: people now create 4 billion images per week across ChatGPT, Codex and the API. On average, the company says, that is more than half a billion images per day.

GIFs bring motion to images

The headline feature is GIF creation. OpenAI says users can animate a brand mascot or character, or turn a product shot into a loop. The company lists several uses: marketers and creators can animate a mascot for a campaign, make reactions and memes for social media, or build animated storyboards to explore character movement before video production.

OpenAI also says a simple sketch can become an animated character for videos, games and more, and showed an animated owl made from a hand-drawn sketch. Its examples included sprite-sheet prompts that ask for a seamless looping GIF built from six sequential frames in a 3-column by 2-row grid. Those examples were created by OpenArt.

Town, a startup building an AI work assistant, used Images 2.6 in the API to explore how animated characters could add personality to everyday work interactions. Its character Monty appears above the message box as a typing indicator.

New editing controls for developers

OpenAI says Images 2.6 gives developers more control over how images are created, edited and carried into later stages of a project. Several features are part of this:

• Image markup: already available in ChatGPT, it now comes to the API so teams can point to exactly where specific changes should be made.
• SVG exports: designs can be made ready for use across websites, apps and print.
• Complexity parameter: a new setting that lets developers adjust how much planning the model does to meet a request. Lower settings suit quick edits.

OpenAI distinguishes between the two controls: image quality governs visual detail and fidelity, while complexity guides how much goes into the scene. For most editing tasks, the company recommends low complexity for faster edits, paired with the image quality a workflow requires. For scenes with many elements or constraints, it suggests trying medium or high complexity.

Availability

Images 2.6 is available globally today in ChatGPT and Codex across all subscription tiers, on desktop, mobile and web. GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst and GPT-Image-2.6 Flare are available in the API, with pricing details published by OpenAI. The company has also released a system card covering its safety evaluations and safeguards for Images 2.6.

For developers, the split between Flare and Sunburst offers a choice between speed and higher detail, while the complexity setting adds a second way to balance turnaround time against scene detail. For creators and marketers, GIF output extends image generation into short animated assets inside tools they may already use.