Market · AI in practice
Images 2.6: OpenAI adds more control over speed and detail in image generation
On November 4, 2026, OpenAI launched Images 2.6 with two model options, a scene-planning control, and SVG export; according to the company, people already create 4 billion images a week.
What the sources report
On November 4, 2026, OpenAI launched Images 2.6 across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API. According to the company, generation is about 50% faster. There are also GIFs from text or an image, and saved reference images in ChatGPT so you can reuse them without uploading again.
On the API, OpenAI presents two options. Flare is the option geared toward speed at low quality. Sunburst aims for higher quality and more consistency from one edit to the next. There is also a control called complexity, which sets how much the model plans the scene before drawing, plus image markup and SVG export, an editable vector file for a site or app.
Adriano's reading
According to OpenAI, people already create 4 billion images a week across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API. I see room to bring these controls into product-team workflows, measuring response time, cost, and quality.
Sources
- https://openai.com/index/introducing-images-2-6/ (opens in a new tab) OpenAI
- https://community.openai.com/t/images-upgraded-introducing-chatgpt-images-2-6/1412901/ (opens in a new tab) OpenAI
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/image-prompting (opens in a new tab) OpenAI
- https://x.com/OpenAI/status/2118124944928432327 (opens in a new tab) OpenAI