ChatGPT’s free tier just got a very handy image-making upgrade

OpenAI is expanding access to its best AI image generator to ChatGPT users who don't pay for a subscription. They can now use the DALL-E 3 model to produce two images a day.

Up until now, DALL-E 3 has only been available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, though those who pay the monthly $20 subscription fee can get up to 50 images a day for their money.

DALL-E 3 is a significant upgrade to OpenAI's earlier AI image generators as it can produce photorealistic images, accurate text, and even fill in missing parts of an image with generated content designed that fits the rest of the image, a technique called inpainting.

A two-image limit for free users suggests OpenAI wants to show off DALL-E 3 just enough to get users to sign up for the subscription service. Of course, you could use Microsoft's image creator, which also uses DALL-E 3 but has a 15-image daily limit. However, OpenAI is likely counting on the full suite of features on ChatGPT to keep those interested in high-end AI images on the platform.

However, making only two images a day is even more limited than it might seem initially. One of the challenges of AI image generation is the iterative process often required to achieve the desired result. Users typically generate multiple images, make adjustments based on the output, and repeat the process until satisfied. With only two attempts per day, this approach is basically impossible. Either you'll be happy with, at most, one edit, or you'll have to wait a day.

AI Free for All

This isn't the first time an ostensibly premium ChatGPT feature has made its way to the free tier either. The custom GPTs made by third parties were only for premium subscribers when they first came out, but now, any free ChatGPT user can browse and use them.

The biggest example of ChatGPT's free tier offering advanced is the recently released GPT-4o, the company's most powerful large language model, is also available to all ChatGPT users. As with DALL-E 3, that does include some usage restrictions but is nonetheless a way to get far more people to experiment with the more advanced AI projects from OpenAI.

That said, the inclusion of DALL-E 3 in the free tier also underscores the growing importance of visual content in digital communication. OpenAI is in a race with Google, Meta, and others to bring out tools to quickly and easily generate high-quality images. You'll likely see better and better models for free as they compete to get your valuable prompting time.

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