ChatGPT’s New GIF Generator Is Fun, but It Won’t Replace Us Humans Just Yet.
When it comes to AI-powered image generation, Gemini and ChatGPT are doing a decent job. In most cases, the results will look like they were created by AI, but they likely won’t have any obvious spelling errors or missing limbs. Now, OpenAI is trying something new by introducing GIF support to ChatGPT . This is the company’s first feature to allow for the creation of “moving images” since OpenAI shut down Sora . While Gemini can create hyper-realistic videos , this new ChatGPT feature attempts to at least partially fill that gap.
How to Create Animated GIFs with ChatGPT
OpenAI markets the new feature as an animation tool, not as a way to create looping videos—though that’s exactly how I used it. You give ChatGPT as detailed a prompt as possible, and the chatbot creates a GIF animation in just a few seconds. You can also start with your own drawings or images. ChatGPT uses sketches as the basis for the animation, although it can turn any static image into an animated GIF. Like other AI-powered editing tools, you can edit the GIF if ChatGPT doesn’t quite get it right: you can ask ChatGPT to make the GIF longer or shorter, remove certain objects, change the style, slow down transitions, and make other adjustments.
AI-generated art can be quite bland, but I was surprised by how much more engaging the addition of motion and animation makes image creation. Unlike traditional GIFs, which are typically created from existing videos, you can turn anything into a GIF, which is especially great if you’re using your own work. During my testing, I found this to be the most enjoyable part of the process. It’s not always possible to create a GIF with a single request. But after a few rounds of editing, I eventually created several GIFs that I really wanted to share in my WhatsApp groups.
ChatGPT can’t beat regular GIFs.
That said, I believe human-made GIFs are still the gold standard. For example, I asked ChatGPT to generate a video of someone brewing pour-over coffee using a long-spouted teapot, demonstrating the process of “dissolving” the coffee. It turned out well, but it doesn’t look anything like a real pour-over. The teapot doesn’t spin in a circle, the water rises unevenly, there are no bubbles, and the steam flies everywhere.
Compare this to the GIF below, which is taken from a free video. Although it’s a compressed, low-quality, and noisy GIF, it still shows the motion of pouring water, the rise of the water, and even the bubbles. The detail captured in the real video is simply missing from ChatGPT’s GIFs. If that’s what you’re expecting, you’ll be disappointed. But I don’t think that’s the purpose of this feature.
I found ChatGPT to be great when you’re creating something fun and not getting too hung up on the details. It handled a looping video of a cat playing with a ball and was perfect for creating a festive Diwali GIF. It even made a GIF from a photo. I asked it to create a funny promotional GIF for my JBL Bluetooth speakers, and it did a great job. At first, the transitions were too abrupt, and the movement just didn’t make sense. However, after some editing, I was able to achieve an acceptable result.
However, the main problem with ChatGPT’s GIFs is that complex movements and transitions aren’t properly polished. The hand shifts position oddly between frames, and colors and objects appear out of nowhere. But if you can work around these issues, you can create fun, lighthearted GIFs and memes to share with friends on Instagram or WhatsApp.