DALL-E is retiring. On May 12, OpenAI will phase out the LLM for AI image generation that helped kickstart the AI hype.
On May 12, 2026, OpenAI will discontinue DALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3. The AI models for image generation will no longer be available from that date. This marks the end of public availability for the DALL-E series of models, which helped put AI-driven image generation on the map.
OpenAI revealed the existence of DALL-E in 2021. In mid-2022, the general public was first able to get started with a beta version. DALL-E put AI image generation on the map and was effectively the vanguard of the AI hype to come. After all, OpenAI only launched ChatGPT a few months later.
Alternatives
In that respect, the end of DALL-E’s availability can be called somewhat historic, although the impact remains limited. OpenAI continues to put its weight behind AI-driven image generation. The latest models for this have a less catchy name but are more modern: gpt-image-1.5 and gpt-image-1-mini. So, it’s not that OpenAI is pulling the plug on image generation, as it did last month with video generation and Sora.
ChatGPT users who want to generate images will notice little difference. Those who have built solutions using APIs, however, must migrate. OpenAI refers to its developer forum for more information.