If your AI-generated images have ever taken a little too long to render, or come back with mysterious changes you definitely didn’t ask for, OpenAI thinks it has a fix. The company has announced a major update to ChatGPT Images that promises to make visual creation faster, sharper and far better at following instructions. In short: fewer surprises, more control, and a lot less waiting around. The update, revealed in a blog post on Tuesday, is part of a wider push inside OpenAI to transform ChatGPT from an impressive novelty into a genuinely practical everyday tool. And this time, the company says, the improvements are not subtle.
According to OpenAI, the revamped image generator offers dramatically improved instruction-following, far more precise editing tools, and image generation speeds that are up to four times faster than before. That combination, it argues, fundamentally changes what users can realistically do with AI-generated visuals.
“The update includes much stronger instruction following, highly precise editing, and up to 4x faster generation speed, making image creation and iteration much more usable,” the company wrote. “This marks a shift from novelty image generation to practical, high-fidelity visual creation, turning ChatGPT into a fast, flexible creative studio for everyday edits, expressive transformations, and real-world use.”
One of the biggest frustrations with earlier versions of ChatGPT Images was their tendency to overstep. Ask for a small tweak, and the system might quietly rework half the image. OpenAI says that problem has been a key focus of this update.
The company claims the new version is much better at making targeted changes without altering other elements, allowing users to refine images rather than repeatedly start from scratch. For designers, marketers and casual creators alike, this could mean smoother workflows and far less trial and error.
Speed is the other headline change. With generation times now reportedly up to four times faster, OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT Images as something you can iterate with in real time, rather than a tool that interrupts creative momentum.
The timing of the update is no coincidence. It arrives just weeks after OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman reportedly issued what he described as a “code red” memo inside the company, calling for urgent improvements to ChatGPT’s overall quality.
In that internal document, Altman said OpenAI still had significant work to do to improve the chatbot’s day-to-day experience, including answering a broader range of questions and boosting speed, reliability and personalisation. The memo was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The urgency reflects growing pressure from rivals. Competitors have been closing the gap on OpenAI’s early lead, with Google last month releasing a new version of its Gemini model that outperformed OpenAI on several industry benchmark tests.
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