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4w ago

OpenAI Limits GPT-4o Image Generator to Paid Users After Viral Studio Ghibli Trend

The feature's popularity and ethical concerns over AI-generated art prompt a delayed rollout for free-tier users.

A Blinkit product manager gave Bollywood scenes ChatGPT's Ghibli makeover.
GPT-4o image generation is rolling out now.
Shyam, Babu Rao and Raju get the Studio Ghibli treatment by OpenAI. Twitter has been flooded with beautiful AI-recreated images of people, their pets, their families, memes and even movie scenes in the iconic style of Japanese animation house, Studio Ghibli.
Yep, this is AI.

Overview

  • OpenAI's GPT-4o model introduced advanced image-generation capabilities on March 25, 2025, enabling detailed and precise visual outputs, including text rendering and editing.
  • A viral trend of creating Studio Ghibli-style images using the new feature raised significant debates about copyright, artist rights, and the ethics of AI-generated art.
  • Due to overwhelming demand, OpenAI delayed the rollout of the image-generation feature to free-tier users indefinitely, while keeping it accessible to paid subscribers.
  • The company faces scrutiny over its use of copyrighted material in training datasets, with ongoing lawsuits questioning the legality of such practices.
  • OpenAI emphasizes safeguards, including metadata embedding and restrictions on harmful content, though concerns persist about the ease of removing such identifiers.