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Design·9 min read·September 18, 2026·By Kelly Stratton

ChatGPT Images 2.5: The Template List, the Markup Tool, and 10 Prompts That Use Them

Make a poster, a logo, a product photo, or a shirt in ChatGPT without fighting the picture: which templates to pick, how the Markup tool changes one thing and leaves the rest alone, and ten copy-and-paste prompts that get you a finished image on the first try.

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You’ve had the moment. The flyer is perfect except for one number, you ask ChatGPT to fix the number, and the whole flyer comes back different. Different dog, different colors, new typo. That’s over. ChatGPT Images 2.5 gives you a template so the layout is right from the start, and a Markup tool that changes only what you circle. This guide is the template list, the exact taps for Markup, and ten prompts that get you a finished poster, logo, product photo, or shirt without the fight.

In a nutshell

Go to Images in ChatGPT. Pick a Template (poster, merch, logo, product photo, icon) and describe what goes in it. When you need a change, open the image, tap Edit, pick Markup, circle the part, and type only the change. ChatGPT changes that and keeps the rest. Every plan has it, including free.

What Images 2.5 is

ChatGPT Images 2.5 is the image maker inside ChatGPT, updated September 8, 2026. It draws pictures from your words, starts you from a template when you want a standard layout, and lets you edit one part of a finished picture with a circle or a click while leaving the rest untouched. It's on every ChatGPT plan.

What you need

ChatGPT on your phone or computer, any plan. Open ChatGPT and tap Images in the menu. You'll see it marked Updated. That's where Templates live. The Edit toolbar appears whenever you open any image ChatGPT made. Daily limits depend on your plan, so on a free account plan the picture before you send it and use edits, which are cheaper than starting over.

Part 1

What Changed in ChatGPT Images 2.5?

Two things you’ll use, plus a few you’ll be glad are there.

Templates. Before, you described a poster from scratch and hoped the title landed at the top. Now you pick Poster and the layout is already a poster: title space, image space, details space. You fill in the words. Same for merch, logos, product photos, and icons.

Markup. Before, a small fix meant a full redraw. Now you circle the part and type the change, and OpenAI’s own description of the update is that it edits only what you ask for and keeps the rest of the image intact. That one line is why this update matters.

The full Edit toolbar, in the order you’ll reach for it:

The Edit toolbar
MarkupCircle any area, type what you want changed, send. Best for "this part, not that part." Two circles in one pass is fine.
CommentClick one exact element and attach an instruction: "remove this," "make this blue," "change this word to Sale." The precise version of Markup.
Remove BGKeeps the subject, drops the background, and downloads as a transparent PNG. Logos, product shots, and cutouts for Canva.
EraseBrush over something you don't want, like a person in the background, and it's gone. You don't have to be neat about the brushing.
ResizeSwitches the shape without redrawing: portrait 3:4, widescreen 16:9, landscape 4:3. One flyer becomes a story, a post, and a banner.
@SketchNot on the toolbar, in the chat. Type @Sketch, draw a rough layout with your finger or mouse, and ChatGPT turns the doodle into a finished image. For when words keep missing the placement.

It’s also faster than the last version, which you’ll notice on the third edit of the same flyer.

Part 2

The Template List

Templates are starting points for the formats people make most. These are the ones OpenAI named at launch; the list on your screen may show a few more, and picking the closest one works.

Templates, and what each one is for
PosterFlyers, sale signs, event posters, menus, "we're hiring." Anything with a headline, a picture, and details at the bottom.
MerchShirts, hoodies, mugs, tote bags. The design sits on the product so you see it the way a customer would.
LogoA mark plus a name, or a mark on its own. Ask for three directions in one go and pick.
Product photoYour product on a clean background or in a real setting. Listings, catalogs, ads.
IconSmall, simple symbols for a website, an app, a menu, or a slide deck. Ask for a matching set.

How a template works. Pick it, then write what goes in it the way you’d brief a designer: what it’s for, the exact words that must appear, the one picture, the mood, the colors. The layout is handled. Your job is the content.

Part 3

How Do You Edit One Part of an Image in ChatGPT?

This is the tool from the video. Here are the exact taps.

  1. Open the image ChatGPT made. Tap Edit.
  2. Pick Markup.
  3. Draw a circle around the part you want changed. If two things change, draw two circles.
  4. In the box, type only the change. Not the whole picture again. Just the change.
  5. Send. The circled parts change. The rest stays the way it was.

The one from the video, on a grooming flyer with a price and a dog:

Change 20% off to 25% off, and make the dog a golden retriever. Keep everything else exactly the same.

Three habits that make Markup work every time.

  • One circle per change. Circle the price for the price change, the dog for the dog change. A circle around the whole flyer gets you a whole new flyer.
  • Write the change, not the picture. “Change 20% to 25%” works. “A grooming flyer with a golden retriever and 25% off” tells it to start over.
  • End with “keep everything else exactly the same.” It already tries to. Saying it closes the door.
  • Stay in the same chat for every edit of one picture. Each edit builds on the last, so the dog, the colors, and the layout hold from version to version. Open a new chat and you start from zero.

When Markup is too broad, use Comment. A single word in a headline, one button, one small object: tap Comment, tap the thing, type the instruction. It’s the same edit with a pin instead of a circle.

Part 4

The 10 Prompts

Every prompt names the template or tool to use first, then the words to paste. Anything in [square brackets] is a blank for you to fill in; type your real detail and delete the brackets. The sample business is Muddy Paws Mobile Grooming, so you can see the shape.

1. A sale flyer (Template: Poster)

A fall flyer for Muddy Paws Mobile Grooming. Headline: "Fall Fresh for Your Dog." A big round badge that says "20% OFF" with "full grooms through October 31" under it. One happy gray schnauzer mid-bath, suds and all. Warm autumn colors, a few maple leaves, plenty of energy. Phone number at the bottom: [your number]. Make every word exactly as written.

2. A product listing shot (Template: Product photo)

A product photo of [your product, e.g. a lavender dog shampoo bottle] on a plain white background, centered, soft studio lighting, slight shadow under the bottle, label facing the camera and readable. No props, no text added.

3. Three logo directions (Template: Logo)

Three logo options for "Muddy Paws Mobile Grooming," side by side. One: a simple paw print with water drops. Two: a van silhouette with a paw on the side. Three: just the words in a friendly rounded font with one paw as the O. Flat design, two colors, works small.

4. A shirt for the team (Template: Merch)

A navy T-shirt with a small chest logo for Muddy Paws Mobile Grooming (paw print, two colors) and, on the back, the words "We Come to You" in big friendly letters. Show the front and the back on the same shirt mockup.

5. A one-page menu or price list (Template: Poster)

A price list for Muddy Paws Mobile Grooming titled "Grooming Menu." Three rows: Bath & Brush $45, Full Groom $75, Nail Trim $15. Small paw icon next to each row. Clean, easy to read from across a room, cream background, one accent color. Every price exactly as written.

6. A matching icon set (Template: Icon)

A set of six matching icons for a pet grooming website: bath, scissors, nail clippers, a van, a calendar, a phone. Simple line style, same stroke weight, one color, on a transparent background.

7. Fix two things on a flyer (Edit: Markup, circle the price and the dog)

Change 20% off to 25% off, and make the dog a golden retriever. Keep everything else exactly the same.

8. Fix one word (Edit: Comment, tap the word)

Change this word to "Weekend." Same font, same size, same color.

9. A clean cutout for Canva (Edit: Remove BG, then Resize)

Remove the background so only the van and the dog remain. Then give me the same image as a 16:9 banner with the subject on the right and open space on the left for text.

10. Draw it first (type @Sketch in the chat, then rough out the layout)

Turn this sketch into a finished poster for Muddy Paws Mobile Grooming. The big shape at the top is the headline "Book Your Fall Groom," the box in the middle is a photo of a freshly groomed dog, the strip at the bottom is the phone number and the website. Warm, bold, friendly.
Why every prompt spells out the words

Text inside images is the one place AI still slips. "Make every word exactly as written" and putting the exact words in quotes cuts the typos down to almost nothing. When one slips through anyway, that's a Comment job: tap the word, type the fix, done.

Part 5

The Tell

When a picture comes back wrong, what went wrong tells you which tool to reach for.

What you see, and what to do
The whole image changed after a small editThe prompt described the picture again, or the circle was too big. Undo, circle only the part, write only the change, and end with "keep everything else exactly the same."
One word is misspelledComment. Tap the word, type "change this to [word], same font." Don't regenerate the whole thing for a typo.
The layout is right but the shape is wrong for where it's goingResize. Portrait for stories, widescreen for a banner, landscape for a slide. No redraw.
It keeps putting things where you don't want them@Sketch. Draw the rough layout yourself and let it fill in the drawing.
Something's in the shot that shouldn't beErase. Brush over it. You don't have to be precise.
Part 6

What It Doesn't Do

It doesn’t make a real photo of a real person unless you give it one. For your own face or your product, upload the photo first and describe the change you want. Generated people are generic on purpose.

It won’t draw someone else’s logo or a famous character. Trademarks and well-known characters come back changed or refused. Your own logo is fine.

Small text is still the weak spot. Keep the words that matter big, spell them out in quotes, and fix stragglers with Comment.

Your daily count still depends on your plan. The tools are on every plan, including free. The number of images per day isn’t. Edits are the efficient way to get to the finished picture, so use them instead of regenerating.

Do this first

Open Images, pick Poster, and paste prompt 1 with your own business name and number. When it comes back, tap Edit, pick Markup, circle the discount, and change the number. Watch everything else stay put. That's the whole update in two minutes, and from then on every image you make starts from a template and gets fixed with a circle.

FAQ

Questions People Ask About ChatGPT Images 2.5

Straight answers

What's new in ChatGPT Images 2.5?

Two things you'll use every day: Templates, which give you a ready-made layout for posters, merch, logos, product photos, and icons, and an Edit toolbar with Markup, Comment, Remove BG, Erase, and Resize, so you can change one part of a picture and keep the rest. It's also faster, and you can draw a rough idea with @Sketch.

How do you edit one part of an image in ChatGPT?

Open the image, tap Edit, and pick Markup. Circle the part you want changed, type what you want in the box, and send. ChatGPT changes what you circled and leaves everything else the way it was. For a single object, the Comment tool does the same thing with a click instead of a circle.

Does ChatGPT have image templates?

Yes, since September 8, 2026. Go to Images in ChatGPT and you'll see Templates for the common jobs: posters, merch like shirts and mugs, logos, product photos, and icons. Pick one, describe what goes in it, and the layout is already handled.

Is ChatGPT Images 2.5 free?

Yes. OpenAI rolled Images 2.5 out to every ChatGPT plan, including free, on desktop, mobile, and web. How many images you can make in a day still depends on your plan's usage limits, so a free account gets fewer per day than a paid one, but the tools are the same.

How do I change one thing in an AI image without redoing the whole picture?

Use Markup and say only what changes. Circle the price, type "change 20% off to 25% off," and send. Don't describe the rest of the picture again. If you also want the dog to be a golden retriever, circle the dog in the same pass and add it to the same message. Two circles, one prompt, two changes.

What is @Sketch in ChatGPT?

A way to draw your idea instead of describing it. Type @Sketch in the chat, rough out the layout with your finger or mouse, a room, a flyer, a shirt, and ChatGPT turns the doodle into a finished image. It's the fastest way to get the placement right when words keep missing.

Why does ChatGPT still change things I didn't ask for?

Usually because the prompt described the whole image again. In Markup, circle only the part that changes and write only the change. If a whole area shifts anyway, undo, use Comment to click the exact element, and repeat the instruction. Say "keep everything else exactly the same" at the end.
Sources

Where This Comes From

  • OpenAI, “Introducing ChatGPT Images 2.5,” September 8, 2026: the rollout to all ChatGPT plans, Templates, @Sketch, and comment-based edits. openai.com
  • OpenAI Developer Community, the launch announcement thread: the same release notes and the @Sketch instructions. community.openai.com
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