Nano Banana Faces New Rival as OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT Images Overhaul

OpenAI is looking to peel Google’s Nano Banana with the launch of a rebuilt ChatGPT Images, the latest iteration of its AI image generator, designed to position the genAI platform as a full-fledged creative studio.

Released on Tuesday, the update brings image generation and editing into a single conversational workflow, allowing users to create images from text, modify uploaded visuals, and refine results through natural-language feedback without restarting prompts. OpenAI says the redesign delivers faster generation, smoother iteration, and stronger alignment with user intent.

Rather than functioning as a one-shot generator, ChatGPT Images operates as a multimodal image workspace that preserves visual context across iterations, making it easier to adjust composition, style, and individual elements as ideas evolve.

Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, noted in her latest Substack entry that the update is part of a broader shift toward dynamic AI experiences, where users do not switch tools or modes to create, with the model continuously adapting as the prompt evolves. 

“Today we launched a new image gen model and a dedicated entry point in ChatGPT for images that works more like a creative studio,” Simo wrote. “The new image viewing and editing screens make it easier to create images that match your vision or get inspiration from trending prompts and preset filters.”

Simo added that Images’ improvements extend to key elements such as composition, lighting, and consistency in likeness across image iterations, helping results stay closer to what the user intended.

A rivalry for the ages

OpenAI is rolling out Images broadly inside ChatGPT, bringing image generation and editing into the core experience rather than treating it like a separate tool — a redesign that pulls it alongside Google’s Nano Banana in terms of experiential cohesion and, in some instances, leapfrogging it by making image iteration conversational rather than prompt-reset driven. 

OpenAI has found itself on the back foot more than once in recent months, as the positive reception of Google’s latest Gemini updates and the release of Nano Banana raised expectations around speed, usability, and visual fidelity. That response has increased pressure on OpenAI to iterate more aggressively on ChatGPT’s creative capabilities rather than treating image generation as a secondary feature.

The rivalry has compressed the cycle of release and response, with both Google and OpenAI pushing their generative AI platforms toward broader creative ecosystems. In that environment, tools built for ideation, explanation, and storytelling are increasingly expected to function as unified creative spaces, echoing the role traditionally filled by suites like Adobe and Affinity.

A creative battle in the AI race

The improved quality of OpenAI Images and the success of Google’s Nano Banana reflect a shared push to hold user attention inside the platform, extending image generation into a continuous creative and reasoning loop rather than a single-output task.

As generative AI platforms absorb more of the exploratory and iterative stages of visual work, established creative tools like Adobe and Affinity are likely to feel pressure not on output quality, but on where and when users choose to engage them. 

In the broader AI race, momentum is increasingly shaped by which platforms can sustain creative flow over time, suggesting that control of the creative environment, rather than isolated technical advances, may prove to be the more durable advantage.

To learn more about Google’s Nano Banana image generator, see eWeek’s report on Nano Banana 2 Flash.
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