OpenAI Pauses Free Access to GPT-4o Image Generation After Viral Surge

The rollout of GPT-4o's image generation feature continues for paid ChatGPT users, while OpenAI refines its strategy following overwhelming demand and copyright concerns.

OpenAI's GPT-4o model integrates advanced image generation directly into ChatGPT, replacing the DALL-E 3 model with improved text rendering, photorealism, and contextual understanding.
The feature allows users to generate and edit images based on prompts, conversations, and uploaded files, with capabilities to handle up to 20 objects in a single image.
Free-tier access to the feature was temporarily halted on March 26, 2025, after viral trends like Studio Ghibli-style images caused a surge in demand, straining resources.
Paid subscription tiers, including ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team, retain access to the feature, with plans to expand availability to enterprise and education users in the future.
OpenAI has implemented safeguards, including C2PA metadata and policies to respect artists' rights, to address concerns about ethical use, deepfakes, and copyright infringement.