Sam Altman says ChatGPT's images "are wayyy more popular than we expected" — OpenAI had to place free users on a waitlist for a while, "our GPUs are melting"

Earlier this week, OpenAI shipped image-generation capabilities to ChatGPT. The capabilities are powered by the AI firm's GPT-4o model, allowing users to generate images from scratch based on text prompts or transform existing images to meet their preference.

It's worth noting that the experience is also available in OpenAI's text-to-video model, Sora. As you may know, the image generation tool was initially supposed to ship for all Free, Plus, Team, and Pro users in waves.

However, this arrangement has since changed. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman:

"Images in ChatGPT are wayyyy more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations). Rollout to our free tier is unfortunately going to be delayed for a while."

To this end, it remains unclear when OpenAI will ship the image generation feature to ChatGPT free users. However, users subscribed to OpenAI's premium services, including ChatGPT Plus (for $20 a month) or the $200/month Pro plan can access the feature right now.

Over the past few days, users have flooded social media with posts sharing the excitement about ChatGPT-4o's image generation capabilities. Some have highlighted its unhinged nature, which allows them to get as creative as they'd like with their prompts.

Up until recently, image generation tools shipped with critical limitations that seemingly lobotomized their capabilities. For instance, Copilot and Midjourney struggle to create a simple plain white image, yet a separate report suggests that the tools can create sophisticated structural designs, potentially rendering architects and interior designers obsolete in the future.

Related: I suspect ChatGPT-4o's raw image generation capabilities will be lobotomized soon

Same way, the AI tools couldn't create a wine glass filled to the brim. It could only look at the glass half empty :( I assume the delayed rollout of OpenAI's image generation tool to ChatGPT free users can be partly attributed to GPU shortages, especially with the enormous hype around the feature.

OpenAI's CEO recently confirmed that the delayed rollout is due to GPU shortages. "Our GPUs are melting," added Altman.

The executive also indicated that the company is introducing rate limits to the tool while it works on enhancing its efficiency. He also revealed that ChatGPT free users will get up to 3 generations per day when the tool ships to broad availability.