OpenAI has announced a delay in the rollout of its highly anticipated ChatGPT AI image feature delay for free-tier users due to overwhelming demand. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the setback on Wednesday, stating that the popularity of ChatGPT’s new AI-powered image capabilities far exceeded the company’s initial projections.
“Images in ChatGPT are wayyyy more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations),” Altman posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The new feature, introduced as part of the GPT-4o upgrade, allows users to generate, upload, and modify images directly within ChatGPT. While OpenAI initially promised this functionality for all users, it is currently only available to subscribers of ChatGPT Pro, Plus, and Teams.
Why Is the Rollout Delayed?
This delay echoes similar issues OpenAI has faced with recent product launches. The company has repeatedly pointed to insufficient computing power as a key bottleneck in expanding access to its AI tools.
Notably, OpenAI had to disable signups for its AI-powered video generation tool, Sora, shortly after its December launch due to similar capacity constraints. The increasing demand for AI-generated content, especially visual media, is straining OpenAI’s infrastructure.
Will OpenAI’s Future Plans Solve This?
The delay raises questions about whether OpenAI’s upcoming $500 billion Stargate data center project could alleviate these capacity issues in the future. The ambitious infrastructure plan, reportedly in collaboration with major investors, aims to provide the computational power necessary for OpenAI’s expanding AI ecosystem.
For now, free-tier users will have to wait longer before gaining access to GPT-4o’s image generation tools. OpenAI has not specified a revised timeline for the full rollout.
What’s Next for ChatGPT Users?
While OpenAI works to resolve its capacity challenges, free users might have to rely on alternative AI image-generation platforms like MidJourney and Stable Diffusion. Meanwhile, the tech industry continues to watch how OpenAI scales its offerings amid skyrocketing demand for AI-powered tools.
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