ChatGPT✓ ReviewedTry itChecked 9 September 2026ChatGPT's image editor got faster and more precise. Your review still has to catch what it gets wrong.
OpenAI shipped ChatGPT Images 2.5 on 8 September 2026 to every ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex user, with a new @Sketch feature, sharper detail and up to 50% lower generation latency. Two matching API models, GPT-Image-2.5 Flare and Sunburst, shipped alongside it.
Bit’s takeaway
What changed
OpenAI released ChatGPT Images 2.5 on 8 September 2026, rolling out to all ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex users across desktop, mobile and web. It adds a @Sketch feature that lets you draw a rough reference directly in chat and combine it with written instructions, generation latency up to 50% lower than Images 2.0, and more reliable multi-turn edit instructions and subject preservation across reference photos. Two new API models shipped alongside it: GPT-Image-2.5 Flare, the default, aimed at social content, visual search, rapid prototyping and high-volume generation, and GPT-Image-2.5 Sunburst, aimed at premium workflows needing tighter edit control such as campaign creative and product imagery.
Why it matters
A faster, more precise image editor lowers the cost of trying something and re-editing it, which is exactly where unreviewed output slips into real work fastest: a faster loop means more images reach a deck, a post or a client asset before anyone has looked closely at what changed between drafts.
Who should care
- People producing marketing, social or presentation visuals inside ChatGPT
- Teams building on the image API who should check Flare's defaults against Sunburst's tighter control for brand or product work
What to do
Try @Sketch on one real asset you would otherwise brief a designer for, and compare a Flare and a Sunburst output on the same prompt if you touch the API. Before anything ships, check text accuracy, brand colours, and any face, logo or product detail against the source you gave it.
The human take
Tools change fast. Your judgment matters more.
A person still checks the final image against the brief before it ships, however fast the draft loop got; speed changes how many drafts you can try, not whether the last one is right.
Affected guidance
Put this to work
Verified facts
- OpenAI released ChatGPT Images 2.5 on 8 September 2026, rolling out to all ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex users across desktop, mobile and web, with a new @Sketch feature for drawing a reference image directly in chat and generation latency up to 50% lower than Images 2.0. It also released two new API models: GPT-Image-2.5 Flare (the default, for social content, visual search, rapid prototyping and high-volume generation) and GPT-Image-2.5 Sunburst (for premium workflows needing tighter edit control, such as campaign creative and product imagery).Checked
Sources and method