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How to make images with ChatGPT

ChatGPT can draw an image from a sentence and then change it on request. Here's how to ask for one, edit it precisely, find every image you've made, and what to expect from the limits.

Updated 30 October 2026

Checked against OpenAI's help pages on 30 October 2026, when the current version was ChatGPT Images 2.5. Button names can differ slightly between the web and the mobile apps.

Ask for an image

1. Open a chat, or select More and then Images.
2. Describe what you want: the subject, the style, colors, any text that should appear, and the shape (square, portrait, wide).
3. Send the message. A complex image can take a few minutes; you can keep using ChatGPT meanwhile.

Be specific about what matters. ChatGPT can put text inside the image, add small details, and make the background transparent if you ask. For the shape, either say it in the prompt or use the aspect ratio picker. You can also upload a photo of your own and describe how it should change.

Edit an image

The simplest way is to reply in the conversation: "make the sky darker" or "remove the person on the left". For more control, open the editor by selecting the image in the chat or in Images:

1. Choose Select and paint over the area you want changed.
2. Describe the change in the text box.
3. Use Undo or Redo to adjust your selection, or Cancel to start over.
4. To change the shape, choose Aspect ratio; the image is regenerated in the new format.
5. Select Save when you're happy.

The highlight isn't exact, and an edit can spill past the area you painted. Naming the area in your prompt as well ("only the jacket") helps. On the mobile app, tap the image to open it full screen; you'll find Edit, Select (with a slider for brush size), plus Resize and Remove. After selecting, tap Next and describe the change.

Start from a template or a sketch

Templates give you a ready starting point for things like posters or logos:

1. Open the sidebar and select Images.
2. Select Templates, pick a category, then a template.
3. Fill in your details and send. Answer any follow-up questions ChatGPT asks about style.

On the mobile app you can also draw: type @ in the message box, choose Sketch, draw, tap the checkmark, then write what the finished picture should look like.

Where your images are saved

Every image ChatGPT creates is stored automatically under Images, on the web and in the mobile apps. Open one to get these controls:

• Copy puts it on your clipboard.
• Save downloads it to your device.
• Share sends it to another app.

There's no separate delete button for an image. To remove it, delete the conversation it was made in: on the web, hover over the chat title, open ••• and choose Delete; on a phone, press and hold the title. See how to delete ChatGPT chats for the details.

Good to know

• Plans: ChatGPT Images is available on every plan, including Free. Images with thinking is available on Plus, Pro and Business; OpenAI says it's coming to Enterprise and Edu.
• Where: web, iOS and Android. Templates aren't available in Work mode yet.
• How many: OpenAI's image help page doesn't list a fixed number of images per day, so how many you get depends on your plan's usage limits.
• Rules: images must follow OpenAI's usage policies, and you can report a generated image that you think breaks them.
• Teens: on a linked teen account, a parent or guardian may be able to turn image creation and editing off.

If it doesn't work

• It's taking a long time. Detailed images can take a few minutes. Carry on in another chat and come back.
• An edit changed too much. Use Undo, make a smaller selection, and say exactly which part must stay the same.
• You can't find an old image. Look under Images in the sidebar; if you deleted the chat it was made in, the image is gone too.
• Templates are missing. Switch out of Work mode, or open Images from the sidebar.

Sources

• Images in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 30 October 2026)

Frequently asked questions