ChatGPT animated GIFs are rolling out as a native feature alongside OpenAI’s Images 2.6 update, according to a November 4 report by The Verge. The reported change lets people create a GIF from a written prompt or an uploaded photo, rather than assembling the animation through a separate, multi-step process.
The Verge reported that users can alter a GIF’s playback speed, inspect and edit individual frames, and share the finished file. Frame editing gives users a way to adjust individual frames. OpenAI has not supplied a direct product announcement or documentation for Images 2.6 in the available evidence, so the feature details rest on that reporting.
How do ChatGPT animated GIFs work?
According to The Verge, a user can ask ChatGPT to create an animation from a text request or supply a photograph as the starting point. The publication cited an OpenAI example using the prompt, “can you make a gif of a cat dancing?” The example illustrates the intended workflow, not a guarantee about the quality or consistency of any particular result.
The controls are part of the same reported in-product flow: users can change how quickly the GIF plays and work on frames one by one. That is a more direct route than earlier user-devised methods shared in OpenAI’s community forum.
In a September 2025 community post, a user described making animation by generating a sequence of still images, saving them with sequential file names, compressing them into a ZIP archive, and uploading the archive to ChatGPT for conversion into a GIF or animated WebP. The post also described setting frame rates or delays. It was community guidance, not official product documentation.
The difference is mostly mechanical. The earlier approach required users to build the image sequence themselves and package it for upload; the newly reported feature is meant to generate a GIF natively from a prompt or photo and expose editing controls afterward.
Where is the GIF feature available?
The Verge said Images 2.6 is rolling out to ChatGPT and Codex users on the web, desktop, and mobile apps. The report did not establish pricing, usage limits, country-by-country availability, export settings, API support for GIF generation, or how reliably the feature will handle different requests.
Separately, The Verge reported that OpenAI is introducing GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and Sunburst through its API for faster and higher-quality image generation. Those API models should not be read as confirmation of API GIF support, which the available reporting does not specify.
OpenAI also said people generate more than 4 billion images each week across ChatGPT and its API, up from the 3 billion weekly images it reported in September. That is a company-reported usage figure, not an independently audited measurement.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
