# OpenAI's image strategy hinges on virality > Source: > Published: 2026-11-05 18:22:39+00:00 For everyone who has ever spent 10 minutes searching for the perfect eye-roll GIF, OpenAI has a solution for you. On Wednesday, OpenAI launched its [next-generation image generation model](https://openai.com/index/introducing-images-2-6/): Images 2.6. Though the previous generation was already capable of creating realistic images — so realistic that it tricks on average 50% of The Deep View's readers in the "AI or Not" poll at the end of the newsletter every day — this model includes a number of updates, such as quicker use of reference images and creating GIFs from text. To create GIFs, users can enter a prompt or image to generate an animated GIF, then customize it by adjusting the speed, editing individual frames, and sharing it The reference image feature seems tailored to marketers, who can insert brand assets, mascots, product visuals, or simple sketches to bring a GIF concept to life—leveraging the potential for social-media virality. "Marketers and creators can animate a brand mascot for a campaign, create reactions and memes for social media, or use animated storyboards to explore character movement before video production," said OpenAI in the release. The image reference feature lets users save reference images of themselves, pets, and characters to reuse in new creations. Though this seems like an attempt to make its image model more of a mainstay for users in everyday conversations, it also has a practical component for businesses, which can now more easily create new content from brand assets. OpenAI also touts that image creation is up to 50% faster than before, and users can refine images with greater precision. Developers also have the option to choose from GPT‑Image‑2.6 Flare and Sunburst, with OpenAI describing the differences as: - With quality set to low, Flare can generate images in as little as six seconds. - GPT‑Image‑2.6 Sunburst is aimed at higher-quality image generation. - Sunburst also has greater image consistency across edits when quality is set to medium or high. This release builds on OpenAI's success with image generation, with a billion images per week across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API, or more than half a billion images created per day. In addition to the API, Images 2.6 is also available in ChatGPT and Codex. Ultimately, it's a bet that people will go beyond entertainment and find real productivity use cases. "People are using it almost in a productivity-like fashion to create visual diagrams of what they would like to see," said Adam Fry, Consumer Product Lead for ChatGPT at a media event earlier this week. "And I think as it comes down even further, the number of images that people are creating and the number of use cases is going to grow a lot." ## Our Deeper *View* It is interesting to see OpenAI double down on image generation, since it is clearly aimed at the general public as well as working professionals. However, with an impending IPO, it would have been reasonable for OpenAI to take a page out of Anthropic's book and double down on enterprise use cases. Still, with image generation, it is catering to one of the most entertaining consumer use cases — despite it being so compute-heavy. My bet is that OpenAI relies on virality because, realistically, every time it launches another advanced image-generation tool, [something goes viral](https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/03/27/the-ai-generated-studio-ghibli-trend-explained/). Racking up these moments of virality, OpenAI can try to make ChatGPT Images as synonymous with image generation as ChatGPT already is with the term "chatbot." That level of brand awareness on its own is something you can't really put a price on.