ChatGPT image generation is now available for free for everyone

OpenAI has made one of the most anticipated artificial intelligence tools available to a wide audience: anyone can now create images for free using ChatGPT based on the 4o model. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the news on March 31 on social network X, saying the feature is “now available to all free users!”

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman announced the news on March 31, saying the feature is “now available to all free users!

Up until that point, image generation had remained exclusive to those with paid subscriptions. But interest in the tool has been so high that the company has decided to open it up to everyone – albeit with restrictions. Free users will be able to create up to three images per day, while Plus ($20 per month) and Pro ($200 per year) subscribers will retain unlimited access.

The feature gained a new round of popularity thanks to a viral trend: users began generating illustrations in the style of animation studio Ghibli en masse. The interest was so great that OpenAI’s servers were struggling to keep up with the load – Altman himself jokingly wrote that “our servers are melting down.

The generation tool is powered by ChatGPT 4o, a new version of the model that combines text and visual capabilities. It’s built into the ChatGPT interface and is available in both the web version and mobile apps. To create an image, all you need to do is enter a text query and the result will appear in just a few minutes. Even when demand is high, the platform is fast – after testing the feature, journalists noted that the final image (e.g., ChatGPT flying over New York City) was created in less than five minutes, despite occasional connection failures.

Opening access to visual generation to all users is an important step in OpenAI’s strategy for mass adoption of advanced AI tools. Against the backdrop of growing competition in multimodal models, this decision could play a key role in solidifying ChatGPT’s position as the universal assistant of the future.