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In late March 2025, a wave of Ghibli-inspired images made with ChatGPT’s new GPT-4o image generator drove an unusually sharp surge in activity. On March 30, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly asked users to ease up on image generation while the team tried to keep up. It was an appeal during a demand spike—not a new product rule or a formal directive.
What sparked the “Ghibli Fever” surge?
OpenAI announced image generation in ChatGPT on March 25, 2025. The company said GPT-4o could create images from prompts, transform uploaded pictures, follow detailed instructions and refine results through conversation. Users quickly put the capability to work making images inspired by Studio Ghibli’s distinctive animation aesthetic, including versions of personal photos. The resulting trend spread rapidly across social media.
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At launch, OpenAI said image generation was rolling out to Plus, Pro, Team and Free users, with Enterprise and Edu access to follow. It cautioned that generation could take up to a minute. Those were launch-era statements, not confirmation of current plan access, limits or performance. OpenAI’s March 25 announcement describes what the company introduced.
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Demand put temporary pressure on the service, and Reuters reported that OpenAI limited image generation temporarily. On March 30, Altman posted: “Can yall please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep”. He later said the team had not caught up since launch and described demand as “biblical.” TechJuice reproduced the posts in its coverage of Altman’s appeal.
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The request reflected operational strain during a viral moment. It did not, by itself, change ChatGPT’s usage policy. Reuters’ report, republished by Aaj English TV, also captured the scale of the attention: Altman said OpenAI had added one million users in the preceding hour. That is his statement as quoted by Reuters, not an independently audited count. The Reuters report also relayed third-party activity estimates.
What do the 2025 usage figures show?
The figures below describe different measures and periods during the 2025 surge; they are historical estimates or statements, not current ChatGPT statistics. Reuters attributed them to the named sources:
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| Measure | Reported figure and attribution |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT weekly active users | Average weekly active users breached 150 million for the first time that year, according to Similarweb. |
| ChatGPT app downloads | Global downloads rose 11% week over week, according to Sensor Tower. |
| ChatGPT app weekly active users | Rose 5% week over week, according to Sensor Tower. |
| In-app purchase revenue | Rose 6% week over week, according to Sensor Tower. |
The app figures are Sensor Tower’s market measurements as reported by Reuters, not figures OpenAI presented as audited company metrics. The weekly active-user figure is attributed to Similarweb. None should be read as a measure of today’s usage.
How did ChatGPT’s image generator work at launch?
GPT-4o image generation was integrated into ChatGPT rather than presented in OpenAI’s announcement as the earlier DALL·E GPT path. Users could describe an image, upload one to transform, and refine the result through follow-up instructions. OpenAI also said generated images included C2PA metadata intended to identify them as coming from GPT-4o, and described safety moderation measures. These are the company’s launch claims, not independent guarantees that every image will be identifiable or that every harmful use will be prevented.
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The launch announcement is a dated description of the product at that time; it cannot establish current access or exact steps. Check ChatGPT’s current interface and plan information for present-day availability.
Is making Ghibli-style AI art illegal?
There is no simple, universal answer established by the available reporting. Reuters quoted attorney Evan Brown, a partner at Neal & McDevitt, describing the legal landscape as uncertain and explaining that copyright generally protects specific expression rather than an artistic style as such. That is a lawyer’s account of the issue, not a court ruling that settles the legality of any particular generated image.
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Whether a specific image raises legal concerns can depend on what it reproduces, how it was made and how it is used. A tool’s ability to generate an image does not grant rights to source material or establish that a particular use is lawful. The Reuters account also does not establish a definitive Studio Ghibli response to every image shared during the trend. Reuters’ report provides the cited legal context.
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OpenAI’s Terms of Use describe controls through which users can opt out of model training. The terms also warn that output may be inaccurate. Check the current OpenAI Terms of Use and the controls available in your account before uploading a personal photo; terms and settings can change. A training opt-out does not answer separate questions about copyright ownership or how a particular upload is handled in every context.
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