How GIFs are made
In OpenAI’s example, the prompt “Can you make a GIF of a dancing cat?” turns the character into several slightly different images, which are joined into an animation like a flipbook. The model keeps the character’s appearance consistent across frames. Earlier models would likely have changed the character’s appearance so much that this method of making a GIF would not have worked.
Images 2.6 is also expected to speed up image generation more broadly. OpenAI says users create more than four billion images a week through ChatGPT and its API, up one billion from September.
Flare and Sunburst were first introduced alongside Image 2.5. OpenAI is now releasing these variants through its API: Flare is designed for efficient generation, while Sunburst is for higher-quality images.
Dataist’s take: The GIF feature relies on the model’s ability to keep a character recognizable across frames, while Images 2.6 is also designed to speed up image generation. OpenAI’s announcement does not say when the update will reach all users.
Daily AI news
Every day we pick what actually matters in AI and explain it plainly — no hype, no filler. Subscribe if you want to follow where the industry is going.
Only what matters — every day
Follow on X