Issue #44: ChatGPT Images 2.6 makes GIFs and remembers your mascot. Here is what small businesses can actually use.

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Launched November 4. Rolling out to all ChatGPT users on the web, desktop, and mobile. Some accounts may not have it yet.

If you make your own marketing graphics, you know the two big frustrations with AI image tools. The first is waiting. The second is consistency: you generate a great image of your product or mascot, then ask for another one, and it looks like something entirely different.

OpenAI's update this week goes after both. It also adds animated GIFs, which are handy for email and social posts. It is also worth knowing which of the headline features you cannot use unless you write code.

Based on OpenAI's announcement and coverage from several outlets, here is what changed.

Animated GIFs. You can create a GIF from a text prompt, an uploaded photo, or even a rough sketch. After it generates, you can adjust the playback speed and rework individual frames if one part of the animation doesn't work. Finished GIFs loop and can be shared directly.

Saved reference images. You can keep a library of reference images of yourself, pets, or characters, and reuse them in new creations without uploading them again. OpenAI says the aim is to keep characters, products, and brand details looking consistent across a series of images.

Speed. OpenAI says generation is about 50% faster.

Better editing. Faster, more consistent edits on existing images.

What you probably cannot use. Two features sound great but are for developers only. SVG output (the scalable file format for logos) is available through the API only, not in the ChatGPT app. The new API models and their speed options also need code.

The verdict: The GIF maker and saved references are the two features that matter for a non-technical owner. They are free to try, and consistency is the real prize. But OpenAI has not published GIF length limits or how many you get per plan, so test before you build a campaign around it.

Take a small bakery in Asheville, North Carolina, with a cartoon mascot, a cinnamon roll with a face that appears on its cups and its Instagram. The owner pays a freelancer $60 per graphic.

Here is how she could use it. She uploads her mascot artwork and saves it as a reference. She then asks for a short looping GIF of the mascot waving next to a tray of rolls for her weekend special. She slows the animation down slightly, fixes one awkward frame, and uses it as the header of her email and in an Instagram story. Next week, she asks for a different scene with the same mascot.

This is an illustration, not a case study. OpenAI says it keeps characters consistent, but one early API tester rolled back to the older model because some outputs looked too simple or broken. That is one anecdote, not a benchmark, so test your own mascot.

"Can I use these images for my business?"

Usually yes for your own products and characters, but check OpenAI's current terms before you build a brand around one. The sources I read did not cover usage rights or whether GIFs carry a watermark. Don't animate other people's photos without permission, and don't rely on AI to invent a logo you plan to trademark.

OpenAI has not published per-plan GIF limits. The Pro price comes from a third-party summary, and OpenAI has recently changed pricing, so check the plan page.

If you are a developer using the API, token prices are unchanged at $30 per million image output tokens, but one write-up found low- and medium-quality images now use more tokens, which can raise costs several times over.

This week, run a consistency test. Save your product photo or mascot as a reference, then ask for five different scenes. Put the five side by side.

If four look like your brand, you have a cheap source of social posts. If two do, keep it for rough drafts and have a designer finalize anything customers will see.

OpenAI also released two new image models to developers, called Flare (built for speed) and Sunburst (built for detailed, consistent edits).

Apps and agencies built on them may get faster. The new models cannot yet use the cheaper Batch pricing the older version supports.

Skip leaving the training setting alone. According to one report, conversations on the Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans can be used to train OpenAI's models unless you turn that setting off. If you upload photos of customers, employees, or unreleased products, turn it off first or use a Business plan, which includes a data processing agreement.

Also skip using the tool for photos of real people without their consent. The sources I read said OpenAI has not explained how it safeguards GIFs of real people.

Until next issue, Kris

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