ChatGPT can now create and edit animated GIFs natively

OpenAI has introduced native animated GIF generation in ChatGPT, allowing users to create looping images from a text prompt or an uploaded photograph. The feature is rolling out as part of the company’s new Images 2.6 model and represents the first time ChatGPT can produce a GIF in a single step without external tools.

Before this change, ChatGPT could not natively generate GIFs in a single step, meaning users previously had to rely on multi-step workarounds or separate services to produce animated images involving the chatbot. [1]

Once a GIF is created, users can adjust its animation speed, edit individual frames, and share the result with others. Editing individual frames allows changes to specific moments in the animation rather than requiring the entire sequence to be regenerated. [1]

OpenAI illustrated the capability with an example prompted by the words “can you make a gif of a cat dancing?” In that demonstration, the chatbot produced the GIF and provided options to change playback speed and to view the animation one frame at a time. [1]

The GIF tool is one element of a wider image update. OpenAI said Images 2.6 also enables faster image generation in ChatGPT. The model is being made available to all ChatGPT and Codex users across web, desktop, and mobile applications, meaning the update reaches users regardless of the device they use. [1]

Alongside the consumer rollout, OpenAI is launching two new image models in its application programming interface: GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst. The company described these API variants as offering faster and higher-quality image generation for developers and businesses that integrate OpenAI’s models into their own software. [1]

OpenAI also disclosed new usage statistics for its image generation systems. Users now create more than 4 billion images per week across ChatGPT and its API, the company said. That figure is an increase from the 3 billion images per week that OpenAI reported in September. [1]

The jump from 3 billion to more than 4 billion images per week indicates a substantial rise in the volume of images produced on OpenAI’s platform. The company did not provide a breakdown of how many of those images were generated through ChatGPT versus its API. [1]

By bringing GIF creation, frame editing, speed adjustment and sharing into the chat interface, OpenAI is consolidating a multimedia workflow that previously required users to move between separate applications or services. A user can now move from a prompt to a shareable animated image without leaving the conversation. [1]

The source did not specify whether the feature is available to all subscription tiers, whether there are rate limits on GIF generation, whether GIF generation counts toward the same usage limits as still images, or how long the global rollout will take. [1]

This article was generated by an automated desk and is disclosed to readers as AI-generated.

The update places GIF creation inside ChatGPT’s existing image workflow rather than requiring external tools or multi-step processes.

It expands the range of media users can produce within ChatGPT and follows a reported rise in weekly image generation from 3 billion to more than 4 billion across ChatGPT and its API.

The source did not specify subscription-tier availability, rate limits, or whether GIF generation shares usage limits with still images.

No investment or trading implications are discussed; this is a product feature announcement.