ChatGPT now makes GIFs: 4 ways to use it for your shop
OpenAI added GIF making to every ChatGPT plan. After reading, you will know what to type to animate a product photo, make a sale banner, fix a photo background, and what to check before posting.
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Say you have a photo of a canvas tote bag on a wooden table, taken on your phone. Posted on Facebook, it is a still picture like the ones from a hundred other shops. If the same photo moved for two seconds and then looped, with the bag swaying gently or a price tag popping in, it would at least not look like everyone else's still. Until now this kind of work meant editing software or paying someone.
ChatGPT can now do it, after OpenAI launched its Images 2.6 image model on 4 November 2026. You type a prompt or upload a photo and ask for a GIF, which is a short animation that plays on a loop with no sound, then adjust the speed or edit frame by frame, according to OpenAI in its post on X. This story covers what is confirmed and 4 things a small shop can try now.
What the GIFs look like and who can use them
Images 2.6 is rolling out worldwide on every ChatGPT plan, on the web, desktop and mobile apps, as The Decoder reported. The announcement gives no figure for how many GIFs a free plan can make per day, and it does not mention Thailand by name, so it is not yet clear how far a free plan will take you. What is certain is that GIFs are still rolling out. If the option is missing in your account, update the app and check again in a few days.
In a hands-on test by The Neuron, the tester first asked for an image of a dancing cat, then typed a follow-up asking for a GIF. ChatGPT drew eight dance poses and joined them into a GIF of 448 x 448 pixels, 1.44 seconds long, which took 2 minutes 21 seconds. The cat stayed the same, but the shape of the strawberry on its head shifted slightly between poses, and the changes between poses looked choppy, like a flipbook. That was a single try with an illustration, not a product photo, so your results may differ.
One limit to know: ChatGPT can revise a GIF it made itself, but it cannot edit an animated GIF you upload. If you want your own picture to move, always start from a still image.
Four things a shop owner can try now
The first is to make a product photo move. Open ChatGPT in the app or at chatgpt.com, upload the photo, and type in your own words, for example: "Turn this into a looping GIF. Only let the tote bag sway gently. Keep the background, colours and product exactly the same, and end on the first pose so it loops smoothly." Ask for one movement and say what must not change, because if you only type "make it move", ChatGPT has nothing to hold on to. When the GIF appears, watch it several times, slow it down if it is too fast, and save it to your device to post.
The second is a sale banner with something moving. Make a still banner first, for example a bright banner with a short line such as "20% off until Sunday", and read the text letter by letter, because there is no information yet on how well it writes Thai inside images. Once the text is right, ask for a GIF in which only the star or the price tag flashes and the lettering must not change. In The Neuron's test small details changed from frame to frame, so the text on the banner is what you need to check frame by frame before posting.
The third is fixing a product photo's background. Upload the photo and type: "Change only the background to plain white. Keep the product, its colours and its shadow the same." Ask for one change at a time, and if you want the lighting changed too, do it in the next round. Images 2.6 is meant to keep characters and products consistent across several rounds of edits, but nobody guarantees that for every picture, so zoom in on the product's edges and compare the colour with the real item before you use it, because customers decide from the colour they see in the photo.
The fourth is saving a reference image to reuse. If your shop has a mascot, or you want your own face to stay the same across your pictures, Images 2.6 lets you save an image under a name and call it up in a new chat without uploading it again. The example in Mixed's report is saving a pet photo, then typing @ and the name in a new prompt. The announcement does not give the menu name for saving, so look in the image options in your app.
Before you post, check three things
First, check that the product in the picture still matches what you really sell, in colour, shape and size. Second, check the text frame by frame for errors. Third, check that the loop joins up and does not jerk so much that it looks untrustworthy. If anything fails, tell ChatGPT what to fix in the same chat, then check again.
This week, pick your best-selling product photo, make one GIF from it, and compare it with your usual still post. If the option has not appeared, wait a few days and look again.
FAQ
Is ChatGPT Images 2.6 free to use?
It is open to every ChatGPT plan, but no free-plan GIF allowance has been announced, so you will have to try it in your own account.
Can I edit a GIF I downloaded from somewhere else?
No. ChatGPT can only revise GIFs it made itself. If you have a still of your own, upload the still and ask for a GIF.
How long and how sharp are the GIFs?
No length or resolution has been announced. In The Neuron's test the result was 448 x 448 pixels and 1.44 seconds long, which was a single result.
Can I use the pictures to sell things?
Make sure the product in the picture matches the real item, and read OpenAI's terms of use before using it commercially.
Sources
- OpenAI on X: the ChatGPT Images 2.6 announcement with GIFs
- The Decoder: ChatGPT can now turn text prompts and photos into animated GIFs with OpenAI's Images 2.6 model
- The Neuron: I Tested ChatGPT's New GIF Feature. Here's What Happened
- Mixed: ChatGPT can now make looping GIFs, and you can save reference images for later chats
- TestingCatalog: OpenAI launches Images 2.6 with GIFs and image reference
