How to use DALL·E 3 in ChatGPT: all you need to know

DALL·E 3 is a text-to-image AI art generator based on machine learning that's been provoking both horror and awe online (see our pick of the weirdest AI art created by DALL·E 2). Created by the artificial intelligence company Open AI, it's a generative tool, which means it can generate art from scratch as well as create edits or variations of existing work. It doesn't actually 'know' what it's creating but it makes assumptions based on the massive collection of 650 million image and caption combinations that it's got in its database.

The name is a portmanteau of 'Dali' (as in Salvador) and Pixar's 'WALL-E'. As the name suggests, this is the third iteration of the tool, and although it is a massive improvement on the first two iterations, its move to Chat GPT appears to give users far less specialist control over determining the exact output of the image.

However, the images are now more responsive to the prompts, far quicker to produce. And don't forget, you can create your own software for DALL•E 3 with Open AI's API platform anyway, so there's nothing to stop you from making an app or website that allows you to edit more specifics of the output file.

It's not the only generative AI art creator that works based on text prompts. Artbreeder has launched Artbreeder-collages, which blends text prompts with a collage-like design process. Stable Diffusion and Midjourney are also popular. What appears to potentially set DALL·E 3 apart is the results for particular styles of image, particularly more photorealistic images (see how the best AI art generators compare).

For the first five months after the release of DALL•E 2 in April 2022, DALL-E access was limited, and there was a long waiting list. But now DALL•E 3 can be accessed as easily as through Chat GPT, so anyone can sign up and get started in minutes.

According to OpenAI, “Responsibly scaling a system as powerful and complex as DALL-E – while learning about all the creative ways it can be used and misused – has required an iterative deployment approach.” It says it's now shored up its safeguards enough to open access to everyone.

The catch? DALL·E 3 is no longer free to use. Instead, free users are entitled to two complementary images per day, with paid Chat GPT subscriptions allowing unlimited image creation.

You can complete DALL-E 3 sign up by creating an account on Chat GPT's website. You'll be asked to enter your email address and a security code and to create an eight-digit password. You'll then receive an email with a code that you'll have to enter to confirm your identity. You can also create an account using an already existing Google or Microsoft account. Choose your plan, and you're ready to get started using DALL-E 3.

If your DALL•E 3 images aren't turning out how you'd like there are a few things you could bear in mind. Ensure your prompt is a detailed as possible – including detail about the background if that's important. Specify the style of art you want if you're going for an artistic style, or specify camera angles, lighting details, focal distance and even the specific camera if you're aiming for a photographic style.

DALL•E 3 struggles with requests for images of multiple subjects, so if possible keep it to one subject. That can be limiting, but if you want to create images with multiple subjects, you could try creating separate images and then, one by one, request that DALL•E 3 combines them. Remember that you can always ask DALL•E 3 for more edits, or alternatively export them to edit in the best photo editing software.

DALL•E software used to be completely free to use, but OpenAI has now integrated it into Chat GPT's system and scrapped DALL•E 3's individual website, meaning that access comes with a Chat GPT account.

Although it might be free to have two images generated per day with DALL•E 3, any more than that will require a paid Chat GPT subscription, costing $20 a month. OpenAI has invited artists who need financial assistance to apply for subsidised access.

Is there a completely free DALL·E 3 alternative? Yes, there are several free AI art generators available. As well as Art Breeder-Collages, which we mentioned above (currently in beta), there's DALL•E mini – now called Craiyon (although it produces some nightmarish results), and Stable Diffusion, which is open source.

Until now OpenAI had prohibited commercial use of images generated by DALL·E, but in the beta version, it's now giving “full usage rights” for images created with the platform. That includes the right to sell and reprint images and to use them on merchandise. We have already seen the first case of someone copyrighting AI work.

However, there are concerns about the copyright implications of training an AI model on existing images. Getty Images has banned the use of AI content on its stock image library out of concerns that copyright is murky, and some politicians are calling for specific legislation to clear the matter up.

OpenAI says that it's able to start expanding access now thanks to changes in its policies and advances in mitigating "bias and toxicity" in images generated by the platform. The company says that it's now made changes that will push DALL·E 3 to generate images of people that “more accurately reflect the diversity of the world’s population” if race or gender is not specified in the text prompt.

While DALL•E 2 rejected image uploads that contained realistic-looking human faces or the likeness of public figures (such as politicians and celebrities), Open AI has since changed this policy, with images of real people and public figures now free to be uploaded. It has however maintained rules that prevent users from changing or creating images that could cause harm. This includes images showing self-harm, hateful symbols or illegal acts. Open AI stressed that it has both automated and human monitoring systems to prevent this.

You might remember that previous versions of DALL·E contained a signature that appears as a row of coloured squares at the bottom right of the image. In the example above, you'll see this in the first image. Although this is no longer used in DALL•E 3, Chat GPT recommends using Content Credentials to check if an image has been created using Open AI's DALL•E 3 software.

There are concerns that AI image generators could be misused by people passing off AI-generated images as real, leading to fake news. Not to mention the sketchy copyright issue that's not yet been tackled in legislation, regarding the billions of online images in DALL•E 3's database.

There are also serious concerns that they could be used to create violent images or non-consensual porn. OpenAI says that it's taken precautions to avoid this and continues to learn from real-world use.

Some people are also concerned about what AI image generators mean for the future of creative jobs. Ideally, they shouldn't be putting any artists out of work, but rather that there may be potential for creatives to make the tools work for them.

Developers can integrate DALL·E directly into their apps and products using the API. For example, Microsoft, an investor in OpenAI, uses DALL·E 3 for its graphic design app Designer, which covers social media design, invitations, digital postcards and more.

Microsoft has integrated DALL·E 3 into Bing and Microsoft Edge with Image Creator, which will allow users to create images if search results don’t come up with what they’re looking for. You can learn more in the documentation on the OpenAI website.

Once you've created a Chat GPT account and chosen a plan, you can access DALL•E 3 automatically simply by using the image generation tools. As DALL•E 3 is the image generation tool Chat GPT uses, the most updated version is integrated into the software.

Simply click on the text box, type in a prompt, and Chat GPT will use DALL•E 3 to generate your image. Make it clear in your request that you want it to create an image, as it works with text-based creations too. It usually takes two-three minutes to get your results, depending on how busy the Open AI server is.