AI Image generation gets a significant upgrade with GPT-4o
Here’s why It matters for tech writers
What is the AI news?
OpenAI has rolled out a big update: it’s now using GPT-4o (short for "omni") for image generation in ChatGPT, replacing DALL·E 3. GPT-4o is a multimodal model, meaning it understands and creates text, audio, video, and images. Its image generation is smarter, sharper, and more responsive, thanks to reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). Think: more accurate visuals, better text rendering in images, transparent backgrounds (hello, logo designers!), and easy editing of existing images.
Even better? This upgrade is available to everyone — Free, Plus, Team, and Pro users — although free-tier users might see a delay due to high demand.
Why it matters
We’re often tasked with creating or sourcing visuals — diagrams, mockups, UI examples, icons — for documentation. This update means we can now generate high-quality, custom images right inside ChatGPT without bouncing between tools. Transparent backgrounds? Perfect for integrating visuals into presentations or layered layouts. Need to iterate on an image after a manager’s feedback? GPT-4o supports multi-turn interactions, so you can tweak the image step by step.
Also worth noting: it can edit existing images. So if you’re working with a product screenshot and need to adjust labels or highlight a feature, you now have an AI helper for that.
How it helps you
Here are a few quick wins:
Rapid visual prototyping: Describe the concept you need (e.g., “a flowchart showing user login process with icons for each step”) and get a visual in seconds.
Brand-ready graphics: Transparent backgrounds make it easy to generate visuals that integrate with your organisation’s branding.
Try: “A minimalist gear icon with a transparent background, flat design, blue and grey tones.”Visual iteration on the fly: Say goodbye to clunky editing tools. Just tell ChatGPT what to change.
Try: “Change the background to white and replace the database icon with a cloud.”UI/UX mockups for documentation:
Prompt: “A mockup of a mobile app login screen with fields for email and password, and a ‘Sign In’ button.”
Creating IKEA-style line illustrations
We wanted to go the extra mile and test whether it's now possible to create line illustrations and even step-by-step installation instructions based on photos. In the first part of our experiment, we first asked GPT-4o to create a line illustration based on an image of a coffee machine
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In the second part of our experiment, we photographed the assembly of a microphone and asked an AI to turn the images into an IKEA-style user guide.
