OpenAI's new image generator is now free for everyone (2025)

OpenAI's new image generator is available for all users in ChatGPT and Sora, whether you're a subscriber or using the free version. However, the move comes just days after widespread backlash to the online wave of Studio Ghibli-style AI art generated by the tool.

CEO Sam Altman announced the rollout in a post on X on Tuesday, April 1, a date that instantly makes journalists think everything is a prank. However, the news is indeed true, with the GPT-4o model-driven image generation feature now open for anyone to use. I was able to access the generator without a ChatGPT Plus subscription at the time of writing.

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Altman also mentioned in an X post that users without GhatGPT Plus will soon get rate limits of three image generations per day.

OpenAI's native image generation tool was announced on March 25, with Altman leading a livestream demonstration of its capabilities. However, after Studio Ghibli-inspired AI art generated by OpenAI's tool spread across the internet after launch, large-scale backlash erupted online, with social media users calling out both the potential copyright issues and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki's longstanding public hatred of AI.

OpenAI responded to the criticism, leaning on the company's insistence on "creative freedom." The definition of such freedom in AI image generation could cause issues down the track, particularly where OpenAI draws the line on "offensive" images. As Mashable tech reporter Cecily Mauran pointed out, Altman explained both during the demo of the AI model and later in an X post, that the company wants people to "really let people create what they want."

"What we'd like to aim for is that the tool doesn't create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does," Altman's post read. "As we talk about in our model spec, we think putting this intellectual freedom and control in the hands of users is the right thing to do, but we will observe how it goes and listen to society."

Now the tool is available for everyone to use for free, the problems OpenAI are already facing could increase in scale.

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I'd rather not see how this turns out, but here we are.