OpenAI Releases ChatGPT's Image Generation Model to Developers via API

OpenAI makes its upgraded image generator available to developers | TechCrunch

OpenAI on Wednesday brought the tech behind its new and improved image generation feature in ChatGPT to its API, allowing developers to integrate it into their apps and services. OpenAI's new image generator, which launched for most ChatGPT users in late March, went viral for its ability to create realistic Ghibli-style photos and "AI action figures." It's been a mixed blessing for OpenAI, leading to millions of new signups for ChatGPT while also greatly straining the company's capacity. Over 130 million ChatGPT users created more than 700 million images in just the first week of the tool's availability, according to the company. In OpenAI's API, the image generation capability is powered by an AI model called "gpt-image-1." A natively multimodal model, gpt-image-1 can create images across different styles, follow custom guidelines, leverage world knowledge, and render text. Developers can generate multiple images at a time using gpt-image-1, and control the generation quality -- and therefore speed. According to OpenAI, gpt-image-1 employs the same safety guardrails as image generation in ChatGPT, including safeguards that restrict the model from generating content that runs afoul of the company's policies. Developers can control moderation sensitivity, which can be set to "auto" for standard filtering or "low" for less restrictive filtering. Low filtering limits fewer categories of potentially age-inappropriate content, per OpenAI documentation provided to TechCrunch. OpenAI also says that all images created with gpt-image-1 are watermarked with C2PA metadata so they can be identified as AI-generated by supported platforms and apps. Pricing is $5 per million input tokens for text and $10 per million input tokens for images, and $40 per million output tokens for images. (Tokens are the raw bits of data that the model processes.) That translates to around 2 cents, 7 cents, and 19 cents per generated image for low-, medium-, and high-quality square images, respectively, according to OpenAI. OpenAI says that companies including Adobe, Airtable, Wix, Instacart, GoDaddy, Canva, and Figma are already using or experimenting with gpt-image-1. Figma's Figma Design platform, for example, now lets users generate and edit images via gpt-image-1, while Instacart is testing the model for images for recipes and shopping lists.

ChatGPT's Image Generator Is Coming to More Gen AI Tools

The ability to make images directly in ChatGPT caused a huge spike in usage and spawned trends like people turning themselves into action figures. OpenAI said more than 130 million users worldwide created more than 700 million images in the first week after the feature launched. Now OpenAI is releasing the image model, dubbed gpt-image-1, into its API, meaning developers can add the image-generating feature to their products and tools. Those developers include Adobe, which will provide access to the model in its Firefly and Express apps, according to OpenAI's blog post. Other design tools using the model include Figma, HeyGen and Wix. Read also: AI Essentials: 27 Ways to Make Gen AI Work for You, According to Our Experts Microsoft, meanwhile, announced that OpenAI's GPT-4o image generation feature would now be available in its Microsoft 365 Copilot app through a new "Create" experience. The tool can make images from prompts, turn PowerPoint presentations into videos and more. On the text side, OpenAI rolled out a host of new models last week. That includes GPT-4.1, new models available to developers that can handle more information and work more quickly, and OpenAI o3, reasoning models that promise improved performance in coding, math and visual understanding. This recent run of announcements by OpenAI is the latest move in a race with Google for the lead in the gen AI market. Google's Gemini has its own image-generation features with a model called Imagen 3, announced earlier this month at Google Cloud Next 2025.

Adobe and Figma tools are getting ChatGPT's upgraded image generation model

Jay Peters is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. OpenAI's upgraded image generator in ChatGPT brought a surge of users to the AI service thanks to its ability to create Studio Ghibli-style images and really dull dolls, and now it's coming to other apps. The company says the same "natively multimodal model" powering the image generator will be accessible in its API via "gpt-image-1," according to a blog post, and some major names have already signed up to use it. "The model's versatility allows it to create images across diverse styles, faithfully follow custom guidelines, leverage world knowledge, and accurately render text - unlocking countless practical applications across multiple domains," OpenAI says. Companies like Adobe and Figma are already incorporating the model into their tools. Here's how, per the blog post: Adobe's leading ecosystem of creative tools including its Firefly and Express apps will provide access to OpenAI's image generation capabilities, giving creators the choice and flexibility to experiment with different aesthetic styles - something business professionals, consumers and creators all value when generating new creative ideas. Figma is leveraging the latest model to bring advanced image generation and editing capabilities across its platform. Rolling out starting today, users can use 'gpt-image-1' in Figma Design to generate and edit images from simple prompt - adjusting styles, adding or removing objects, expanding backgrounds, and more. This new integration lets designers rapidly explore ideas and iterate visually, all in Figma. OpenAI says that it's also "continuing to work with developers and businesses to uncover more ways image generation in the API can serve their use cases," including with Canva, GoDaddy, and Instacart. The "gpt-image-1" model will initially be available via OpenAI's Images API, and the company says support for the Responses API is "coming soon."

OpenAI makes ChatGPT's image generation available as API

People can now natively incorporate Studio Ghibli-inspired pictures generated by ChatGPT into their businesses. OpenAI has added the model behind its wildly popular image generation tool, used in ChatGPT, to its API. The gpt-image-1 model will allow developers and enterprises to "integrate high-quality, professional-grade image generation directly into their own tools and platforms." "The model's versatility allows it to create images across diverse styles, faithfully follow custom guidelines, leverage world knowledge, and accurately render text -- unlocking countless practical applications across multiple domains," OpenAI said in a blog post. Pricing for the API separates tokens for text and images. Text input tokens, or the prompt text, will cost $5 per 1 million tokens. Image input tokens will be $10 per million tokens, while image output tokens, or the generated image, will be a whopping $40 per million tokens. Competitors like Stability AI offer a credit-based system for its API where one credit is equal to $0.01. Using its flagship Stable Image Ultra costs eight credits per generation. Google's image generation model, Imagen, charges paying users $0.03 per image generated using the Gemini API. The company said image generation in the chat platform "quickly became one of our most popular features." OpenAI said over 130 million users have accessed the feature and created 700 million photos in the first week alone. However, this popularity also presented OpenAI with some challenges. Social media users quickly discovered that they could prompt ChatGPT to generate images inspired by the Japanese animation juggernaut Studio Ghibli, and as a result, my social media feeds were filled with the same photos for the entire weekend. The trend prompted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to claim the company's GPUs "are melting." OpenAI previously added its image model DALL-E 3 on ChatGPT. That model was a diffusion transformer model rather than the native multimodal understanding that GPT-4o has. Enterprise use cases Enterprises want the ability to generate images for their projects, and many don't want to open a separate application to do so. By adding the image model to its API, OpenAI allows enterprises to connect gpt-image-1 to their own ecosystems. OpenAI said it's already seen several enterprises and startups use the model for creative projects, products and experiences, naming several well-known brands in its blog post. Canva is reportedly exploring ways to integrate gpt-image-1 for its Canva AI and Magic Studio Tools. GoDaddy has already begun experimenting with image generation for customers to create their logos, and Airtable now enables enterprise marketing and creative teams to easily manage asset workflows at scale. OpenAI said gpt-image-1 will get the same safety guardrails on the API as in ChatGPT. The company said images generated with the model natively include metadata from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) that labels content as AI-generated and tracks ownership. OpenAI is part of C2PA's steering committee. Users can also control content moderation to generate images that best align with their brand. OpenAI promised that it will not use customer API data, including any images uploaded or generated by gpt-image-1 to train its models.

OpenAI's image generator is now open to businesses worldwide via API

OpenAI has launched the gpt-image-1 API, enabling developers to integrate ChatGPT's image generation capabilities into their products. The model supports diverse visual styles and applications in design, marketing, and education. It includes safety filters and privacy measures, with tiered pricing.In a major expansion of its AI capabilities, OpenAI has officially launched gpt-image-1, the multimodal model behind ChatGPT's image generation, to developers and businesses via API, chief executive Sam Altman confirmed the development on X. The move comes after the feature's debut last month, where over 130 million users generated more than 700 million images in just one week. The API version makes it possible for organisations to incorporate the model's image generation capabilities into their own products and services. OpenAI says the model is designed to support practical applications in fields like design, marketing, ecommerce, education, and gaming. Technical know-how gpt-image-1 is a multimodal AI model that can generate images from text prompts. It supports a range of visual styles, allows for detailed customisations, and is able to render text within images -- features that make it useful across several industries. Users can apply it to tasks such as visual design, content creation, product marketing, and more, the company said. Use cases As image generation capabilities become more accessible through the gpt-image-1 API, a number of companies across different sectors are already putting the technology to use. Several companies have begun experimenting with the model: Pricing and safety concerns The model uses a token-based pricing structure: $5 per million tokens for text input, $10 per million for image inputs, and $40 per million for image outputs. Based on typical usage, this amounts to approximately $0.02 to $0.19 per image, depending on quality and size. The API is now available globally, although some developers may need to verify their organisation before gaining access. OpenAI says the image generation tool includes built-in safety measures to help prevent harmful or inappropriate content from being created. These include filters that screen out unsafe material, and digital "tags" (called C2PA metadata) that show the image was made by AI. Developers who use the tool can also choose how strict the content filtering should be. Importantly, OpenAI doesn't use images or data from the API to train its models, helping protect users' privacy.