OpenAI’s latest image-generation feature is taking the internet by storm, with users creating more than 700 million images in just one week.
Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT accumulated more than 700 million images following its launch on March 25 due to 130 million participants.
- Viral trend: Studio Ghibli-style artwork dominates social media.
- OpenAI faces operational limitations because its infrastructure cannot keep up with the explosive growth of customer requests.
- With the integration of GPT-4o users can now access quicker and adaptable image production capabilities through ChatGPT.
Unprecedented User Engagement Since OpenAI’s Latest Launch
OpenAI established that more than 130 million users of ChatGPT generated over 700 million images through their new image-generation feature starting on March 25, 2025. The enhanced tool has achieved widespread acceptance in such a brief time that OpenAI released it to their entire ChatGPT user base.
The team at OpenAI under Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap delivers continuous efforts to fulfil growing customer demand. “We appreciate your patience as we try to serve everyone,” Lightcap shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Studio Ghibli-Style Trend Goes Viral
The major driver behind the surge in popularity? Numbers of people took to Studio Ghibli image creation using ChatGPT as a new viral trend emerged. The rise of whimsical anime-inspired artwork filled social media platforms with different creative contents ranging from celebrity reimagery to fantasy illustrations and national cricket team visualizations.
The explosion of image requests on the platform came from GPT-4o’s model update, which delivers prompt results inside ChatGPT’s chat interface. The current model separates itself from its predecessors since it operates directly within ChatGPT’s interface instead of requiring external tools such as DALL·E 3.
Infrastructure Under Pressure Amid High Demand
OpenAI’s infrastructure faced strain due to the achievement of GPT-3’s success which attracted millions of new users to their platform. The company attributes its multiple service interruptions and reduced performance speed to sustaining insufficient GPU supplies and the surge of user activity across its network.
Additional delays to new feature releases exist because the company needs to build more capacity to meet operational needs, according to Altman. According to him, the team members currently spend their nights without much rest.
A Milestone for AI-Powered Creativity
The fast acceptance of ChatGPT’s image-generation tool signifies a pivotal advancement in artificial intelligence tools designed for creative work. The chatbot has two main areas of utilization: entertainment through the generation of photorealistic images and Ghibli-style artwork and professional applications, which include creating infographics and presentations.
The current demand shows how AI tools are transforming creativity by allowing millions of users worldwide to discover new avenues of artistic expression.
Q: Why has ChatGPT been slow or down recently?
A: The huge demand has caused server strain and GPU shortages, leading to occasional slowdowns and outages.
A: Yes, it can create infographics, comics, photorealistic images, and more—beyond just the Ghibli-style art.
Through the new version, users can create images inside ChatGPT while gaining control of the process and achieving efficient output and a uniform style.
Conclusion
The new image-generation feature of ChatGPT achieved extraordinary success by generating more than 700 million pictures during its first week. Users worldwide have adopted Studio Ghibli-style images together with simpler image-creation tools due to their popularity in India. Technical issues at OpenAI stem from their high demand but people remain deeply interested in AI capabilities to enhance their creative output. The technology keeps advancing toward adding new exciting features and useful capabilities to its system.
