Introduction
OpenAI released Images 2.6 on November 4, adding GIF creation, SVG output in the API and more control over editing. The update reaches ChatGPT, Codex and developers using the API. OpenAI positions Flare for quick iterations and Sunburst for more detailed work. Release announcement
For a small team making website and campaign assets, the useful change is the choice of deliverable. An icon, an animated illustration and a social image can share a design, while needing different files and different checks.
Choose the file before the prompt
The API guide describes SVG output as static vector content. GIF output produces an animation. Both are generation options; the image-edit endpoint does not export those formats. That distinction matters when planning a revision: an edit request and a new vector or animation export are separate operations. Export documentation
Consider a fictional calendar app launch. We would split its artwork into three deliverables:
- A calendar icon for the interface: an SVG whose shapes can be inspected and adjusted. Review the icon at its actual display size; details that look good enlarged may disappear in a small toolbar.
- A page-turning illustration for the website: a short GIF, with a still version for visitors who prefer reduced motion. Keep the camera fixed and animate the page, so the movement has one clear purpose.
- An announcement for a social feed: one square image, with the approved logo and headline composed for that frame. Put the individual upload file in its own delivery folder, separate from review sheets and other formats.
This is an example brief, not a campaign we generated or shipped. It gives the designer and developer something specific to agree on: which object moves, which elements remain editable and which file gets uploaded.
Plan a 1.2-second loop
The GIF controls include a frame count and a duration per frame. The documented ranges are 2–64 frames and 20–2,000 milliseconds per frame, with durations rounded to 10-millisecond increments. GIF controls
For our calendar example, start with this timing plan:
{
"output_format": "gif",
"frame_count": 12,
"frame_duration_ms": 100
}Twelve frames at 100 milliseconds each make a 1.2-second cycle. Keep those twelve frames and change the duration to 200 milliseconds, and the cycle becomes 2.4 seconds. Eight frames at 150 milliseconds also make 1.2 seconds, but provide fewer positions in which to describe the movement.
We checked those calculations locally. They describe timing, not measured model speed or the quality of a generated animation. No image-generation request was made for this article.
The creative brief still needs to describe the return. If a calendar page turns forward and the final image abruptly resets, a matching duration will not fix the jump. Specify the starting state, what changes during the turn and how the next cycle begins. Inspect the transition from the last frame back to the first, as well as the middle of the animation.
Keep the exact parts exact
The API separates the amount of planning, called complexity, from rendering quality. Its guide also notes remaining difficulties with lettering, precise placement and recurring brand details. Controls and limitations
Our recommendation for the calendar launch would be to generate the illustration and retain the approved wordmark, headline and button copy as separately placed elements. A spelling correction should not require regenerating an otherwise approved scene. Likewise, inspect an SVG’s actual shapes before handing it to a developer; the file extension alone does not establish that its geometry matches the brief.
Availability and limits
OpenAI says Images 2.6 is available globally in ChatGPT and Codex across subscription tiers on desktop, mobile and web. The API has Flare and Sunburst models with usage pricing. Check the current API prices and your account’s limits before a batch. Subscription availability does not establish a batch’s API cost. Sunburst model and account limits
We have not evaluated Images 2.6 against this brief. The campaign is a file plan to try, not a performance verdict.
