OpenAI Rolls Out GPT-4o-Powered Image Generation For Free Users On ChatGPT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced that the image generation feature in ChatGPT is now available to all free-tier users. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Apr. 1, Altman wrote, "ChatGPT image gen now rolled out to all free users!"

OpenAI had initially delayed making ChatGPT's built-in image generator available to free users. A few days ago, its release sparked a viral trend of Studio Ghibli-inspired images. On Mar. 31, ChatGPT saw a surge in user activity. Altman said the platform gained one million users within an hour, which was equal to its five-day growth.

"The ChatGPT launch 26 months ago was one of the craziest viral moments I’d ever seen, and we added one million users in five days. We added one million users in the last hour," Altman posted on X on Mar. 31.

Last week, OpenAI integrated image generation capabilities into ChatGPT, enabling users to create images directly within the application using the GPT-4o reasoning model. The feature has since gained widespread popularity, with social media flooded with images generated in the style of Japan’s renowned animation studio, Studio Ghibli. Even Altman himself has engaged with the trend, as users experiment with transforming their photos into anime-style visuals.

Initially, this functionality was exclusive to ChatGPT Plus, Pro and Team subscribers. 

In a post a few days ago, Altman acknowledged the tool's overwhelming popularity, stating, “Images in ChatGPT are wayyyy more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations). Rollout to our free tier is unfortunately going to be delayed for a while."

To manage demand, OpenAI has also implemented certain restrictions on image generation for both paid and free users. Altman said that the surge in activity was putting immense strain on the company’s hardware.

"It's super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT. But our GPUs are melting. We are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. hopefully won't be long! ChatGPT free tier will get 3 generations per day soon," he wrote in a separate post on X.

ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 as a conversational AI tool capable of generating human-like responses based on text prompts. Since its debut, the platform has continued to evolve, with the addition of new features like image generation reinforcing OpenAI’s push to expand AI capabilities for a broader audience.