How to use ChatGPT Images 2.5: Sketch, templates, editing and limits

ChatGPT Images 2.5 is OpenAI’s newest image model, released on September 8, 2026. It makes sharper pictures, edits them more precisely and generates them faster, and it comes with new tools in ChatGPT: Sketch, templates, comments on images and shareable prompts. OpenAI says people create more than 3 billion images a week across ChatGPT Images and its image models in the API. This guide shows how to create, edit and share images in ChatGPT, which plans get what, and where the limits are.

ChatGPT Images 2.5 at a glance

What’s new in Images 2.5

OpenAI highlights these improvements:

• Sharper, more natural images: better lighting and richer textures.
• Fidelity to your references: subjects in your photos look more recognisable and distinctive features carry through.
• Precision editing: it is better at changing only what you ask for and keeping the rest.
• Consistent multi-turn edits: earlier changes stay put as you keep editing, without quality dropping.
• Better instructions: it handles complex layouts, including transparent backgrounds, and more accurate real-world information.

How to create an image

1. Ask in a chat. Describe the image you want, or select More, then Images.
2. Be specific. Say what the image is for, the style, any text to include and anything to leave out. OpenAI’s example: for a poster, describe its purpose and the words it should carry.
3. Wait a moment. Generation can take a few minutes depending on the request, and you can keep using ChatGPT meanwhile.
4. Choose a shape. Use the aspect ratio picker, or include the ratio in your prompt.

How to use templates

Templates give you a starting point for common formats such as a poster, merchandise, a logo, a flyer or a product photo.

1. Open the sidebar and select Images.
2. Select Templates and choose a category, then a template.
3. Add the details you want, such as the information to convey, design elements and style.
4. Answer any follow-up questions ChatGPT asks, and add a reference image if an upload option appears.

Templates are not yet available in Work mode.

How to use Sketch

Sketch turns your drawing into a finished image. On the mobile app:

1. In the message box, type @ and select Sketch.
2. Draw your idea. You can pick a colour, erase parts or undo a stroke.
3. Confirm with the checkmark.
4. Describe the subject, colours or style, and send.

You could sketch the layout of a room or the outline of an outfit and let ChatGPT turn it into a complete picture. For example: “Turn this sketch into a watercolor painting of a red house surrounded by trees.”

How to edit an image

• Describe the change in the conversation, and ChatGPT updates the image.
• Use the editor: select the image, choose Select, highlight the area, and describe what to change. You can undo, redo, cancel or save. You can also regenerate the image in a different aspect ratio.
• On mobile: open the image full-screen to edit or add comments. The controls also include Resize and Remove.
• Add comments: place comments directly on an image to focus an edit.

OpenAI warns that highlights are not always precise and edits can spill beyond the area you selected, so say which area you mean.

Share a prompt

When you share an image you can include the prompt that made it, so someone else can try the idea with their own photos and details. On mobile, select Share, then Prompt template, then Copy link.

Plans and limits

ChatGPT Images is available on all plans. According to OpenAI’s pricing page:

OpenAI has not published exact image quotas for each plan with this release. For what else each plan includes, see ChatGPT Go vs Plus and our guide to ChatGPT models.

Managing your images

Everything you create is saved automatically under Images, where you can copy, save or share it. To delete an image, delete the conversation where you made it. OpenAI has retired the official DALL·E GPT, so ChatGPT Images is now the way to create and edit pictures.

ChatGPT Images vs Grok Imagine

SpaceXAI’s Grok Imagine also makes videos and has its own editing tools; see our guide to Grok Imagine and the Grok vs ChatGPT comparison. For the wider ChatGPT picture, see the ChatGPT profile, and for how it compares with Nano Banana Pro, Midjourney and Adobe Firefly, read our guide to the best AI image generators.