GPT Image 2.6 Release

On November 4, 2026 OpenAI released Images 2.6, the new version of its image model for ChatGPT, Codex, and the API. Generation is about 50% faster than before, editing holds character, product, and brand details more reliably across revisions, and the model now produces GIFs alongside still images. The update rolled out globally the same day on all ChatGPT subscription tiers — desktop, mobile, and web — while the API received two models, GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst. The scale behind the release is significant: OpenAI reports 4 billion images created every week across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API.

What is new in GPT Image 2.6

The API release splits into two models with different priorities. GPT-Image-2.6 Flare is tuned for speed: at low quality it can return an image in as little as six seconds, and it improves layouts for posters, product imagery, and other professional visuals. GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst is the quality option, built for work that needs more detail and precision, with greater image consistency across edits at medium or high quality settings.

GIF creation is the headline feature on the product side. OpenAI's examples cover animated brand mascots, character animations, looping product shots, reactions, memes, and animated storyboards. A related sketch-to-animation flow turns a simple drawing into an expressive animated character for videos, games, and similar uses.

New controls in the API

Three additions target teams building image workflows. Image markup, already available in ChatGPT, comes to the API: instead of describing an edit area in words, teams can mark exactly where a change should happen. SVG export makes generated designs usable across websites, apps, and print. And a new complexity parameter controls how much planning the model applies to a request. It is separate from image quality, which governs visual detail and fidelity: OpenAI recommends low complexity for most editing tasks and medium or high for scenes with many elements or constraints.

Where to try GPT Image 2.6

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst is already available in the VEGA image model picker on vega.chat and ru.vega.chat — select it when generating or editing images in the chat. For developers integrating image generation into their own products, api.vega.chat provides an OpenRouter-compatible API with image-generation endpoints.