ChatGPT Images 2.6 turns photos into GIFs you can edit frame by frame

01What happened
OpenAI released Images 2.6, an upgrade to image generation in ChatGPT. It's available now to all ChatGPT and Codex users on web, desktop and mobile.
You can start from a prompt or a photo and get an animated GIF. Then you can change its speed or edit a single frame without redoing the whole thing.
You can also save reference images of yourself, your pet or a character and reuse them in new pictures, so the same face stays consistent. There's new markup right on the image, and you can export results as SVG.
Developers get two new API models: GPT-Image-2.6 Flare makes an image in about six seconds, and Sunburst gives higher quality and more consistent edits. OpenAI says API generation is 50% faster, and that people now make over 4 billion images a week, 1 billion more than in September.
02Why it matters
For founders, marketers and product people, quick animations, on-brand characters and vector assets now come from the same chat they already use, which cuts out a design hand-off for simple work. For developers, a roughly six-second model makes image generation practical inside apps where users won't wait long.
03Try it
- Upload a product photo to ChatGPT and ask for a short looping GIF, then adjust the speed or fix one frame.
- Save a reference image of a mascot or character and use it in three different scenes to check how consistent it stays.
- Ask for a simple icon or logo idea and export it as SVG to drop into your site or deck.
[ Sources ]
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