Whoa! OpenAI’s new update on GPT-4o has unlocked the most advanced AI-driven image generation to date. The whole internet is flooded with ChatGPT and DALL-E 3's generated different artistic styles. From teenagers and working professionals to big names like Elon Musk, Ben Stiller, and Paul McCartney, everybody took part and enjoyed the Ghibli art trend!
The public has loved the update so much that Open AI’s CEO, Sam Altman via X has himself requested users to chill as the company’s GPU has been melting, and the team needs sleep! To control the situation, ChatGPT’s new policy has put a rate limit to restrict the number of image processes per day per user.
Though Sam Altman (CEO, Open AI) has positively indicated to provide effortless access to ChatGPT’s groundbreaking image generation, the key question on minds of industry professionals, “How is the ChatGPT’s new image generator revolutionizing visual content?” remains.
What is Studio Ghibli Art Style?
Studio Ghibli art is a popular hand-drawn visual style known for its dreamy, rich in detail, and deep emotions. Inspired by Japanese aesthetics, European storybook illustrations, and classic Disney films, it was produced by Studio Ghibli, which was in turn founded by animators Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki in 1985. The studio became famous for films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle. Studio Ghibli portraits brought a perfect mix of reality with fantasy, and were loved by the public for their beautifully painted backgrounds and smooth character movements.
The origins of this art style are deeply tied to history, particularly the impact of war. Miyazaki’s love for airplanes and machines came from his father, who worked in WWII aircraft production. This influence appears in films like The Wind Rises and Porco Rosso, where flying plays a big role. Takahata, who lived through the bombing of Okayama in 1945, brought heartbreaking realism to Grave of the Fireflies, a war story told in soft, almost dreamlike visuals. Many Ghibli films show the beauty of nature clashing with war and industry, mirroring Japan’s post-war changes. This contrast between peaceful landscapes against powerful war machines is a common theme, showing how fragile peace can be. This mix of history, imagination, and artistry has made Ghibli’s style one of the most loved in animation history.
The Viral ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli Style Image Generator Trend
Launched on 25 March 2025, Tuesday, as an upgrade of GPT 4o, Open AI introduced advanced image generation tools allowing people to create different artistic illustrations of the real world. The tool tends to process 8-10 objects in an image as compared to other AI tools that can hardly process 5-6 objects. While the new feature was given access to ChatGPT Plus users, Sam Altman has recently tweeted that the ChatGPT image gen is now rolled out for free users as well.
The trend notably gained popularity when Grant Slatton, a software engineer from Seattle, posted some Ghibli-style AI-generated images that spread like fire on social media. Inspired by the post, many users came forward and started posting their favourite moments and places as AI-generated Ghibli-style art. Global feeds of famous social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook got flooded with the Ghibli-style portraits of people.
Studio Ghibli Art Searches Surge Amid ChatGPT Trend
Bonus Question: How to create Ghibli-style images?
To create Ghibli-style images using ChatGPT, users can simply upload the image they want to convert into Ghibli style and give the prompt, “Convert this picture into a studio Ghibli-style image.” The free version of ChatGPT can create 2-3 Ghibli portraits for the user. However, it still has a rate limit (around 11-12 minutes) to prevent frequent image generation for sustaining computational energy.
Such an impactful response by the users has opened new doors of opportunities and innovation to different businesses. As an entrepreneur and business owner, there is a lot in the bucket for you, but what exactly? Let’s have a look at it.
Outlook of ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli Style Trend For Businesses: What They Can Learn?
The rise of Studio Ghibli portraits, fueled by ChatGPT, is a direct and clear sign for businesses that any AI innovation is being loved by the market. This is high time that every brand must embrace AI to stay ahead of the curve. AI today is not just limited to speeding up operations, but opens a new door for businesses to use it for innovations, and how brands connect with customers. This will help them in capturing attention and creating more meaningful interactions with the online audience.
AI’s advanced image generation will add a huge touch of technology to all the visual services, and brand representations like social media posts, pitch decks, business presentations, product designs, and more.
One way designers and creators can modernize their work is through the ChatGPT extension in Canva. This feature allows users to generate compelling text, brainstorm ideas, and refine messaging directly within Canva’s design platform. By using the extension, marketers, content creators, and designers can now effectively combine the AI-powered writing with stunning visuals in real time. Hence, whether it is for bringing trends in the marketplace or bringing innovation to the workflows, AI is truly ruling the technological landscape. Ignoring this shift means missing out on the next big wave of digital evolution.
Is your business ready for AI-driven creativity? Tru’s expert customer experience services can help you elevate your digital presence and drive your business to success.
Contact UsA Big Question: Will AI Really Replace The Art Creators? Let's Know!
So, the most floated question during the trend is, “Will AI replace the artists & creators?”
When we scroll through social media, opinions of people are divided. While some are loving the AI-studio wave, others are seeing it as a threat to artists and creators. To explore both sides, we asked our creative team and Chief Experience Officer to share their insights on AI’s impact on the art world. Here’s what they had to say!
“When we talk about AI’s role in creativity, it should be referred to as 'AI-assisted,’ not ‘AI-authored.’ While AI is a great tool for brainstorming and generating ideas, it should never replace the authentic creative process. Creativity isn't just about the output, it’s about the ownership, the journey, and the intention behind the work. AI may generate content, but only humans can truly create it, with all the depth and personal input involved. When people follow trends like the Ghibli-style aesthetic, they aren't celebrating the artistry of Studio Ghibli; instead, they are shortcutting the soul of that style—the years of hard work and dedication that went into crafting it.”
- Fawnia Putri, Graphic Designer, Tru.
“As someone who grew up watching Studio Ghibli films, it’s truly enjoyable to see our photos reimagined in that iconic Ghibli style, which I’m sure many would agree with. On the other hand, as we know, AI can be an incredible tool to assist in the creative process, providing quick iterations or inspiration, but however the final output should always respect the original work and it should never replace the unique vision of artists, especially when it comes to such legendary styles like those of Studio Ghibli.”
- Yoga Desa, Chief Experience Officer, Tru.
Thus, in conclusion, it’s clear that AI tools aren’t made to replace the unique vision and artistry of human creators. However, they can undoubtedly enhance the creative process and provide inspiration.
Key challenges that Open AI's latest model raised!
As the ChatGPT ghibli trend rose, different social media platforms saw a storm of ChatGPT-generated ghibli portraits. Users also used other AI tools like Grok 3, Gemini, etc, for generating images. However, this caused various ethical and sustainability concerns. For instance, each Ghibli image generation via ChatGPT consumed high computational power, time, and impacted the digital carbon footprint.
Let us break down the key challenges that came up below:
Lower Processing Speeds
Since many users flocked to AI image generation, the demand surpassed system capabilities, and tools became strained, leading to lower processing speed. Even Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, claimed, “Our GPUs are melting!” This led to delayed outputs, frustrating users, and limiting productivity, especially for businesses that needed to meet tight deadlines.
Increased Turnaround Time
Due to high demand, ChatGPT took a longer than usual time to generate the images. To handle the situation better, OpenAI put a rate limit on image generation, preventing users from generating images continuously. This led to longer waiting periods and impacted businesses that required real-time content, like marketing agencies, social media influencers, etc.
Impact on Digital Carbon Footprint
A single AI-generated image could produce between 0.5-2 grams of CO2 on average, depending on various factors. If we consider even half of ChatGPT users (350 million monthly active users) creating one image. The total CO2 emissions would range from 175,000 metric tons to 700,000 metric tons, which will be a dynamic contribution to digital carbon footprint, global warming, and climate change.
Solutions Expected:
These challenges have opened a door to upcoming technological advancements.
In the future, AI systems will be faster and more efficient with better algorithms, specialized GPUs, and eco-friendly energy use. Businesses will benefit from flexible subscription plans, automation, and systems that can adjust resources, helping them meet demand while reducing environmental impact and improving growth.
How Tru Can Contribute To The Coming Era Of Digital Transformation?
The rise of AI-driven image generation will bring a huge shift in digital branding, marketing, and user engagement. The key to success for businesses is to adapt to the changing scenario and revolutionize their strategies to match the expectations of modern customers and adapt to the AI-driven industrial changes.
Tru, as a comprehensive digital transformation company, stays ahead of the trends by adopting new technologies and the impact they can bring to our stakeholders. With our profound expertise in digital consulting, web development, and data-driven solutions, we can help businesses position themselves as prime by leveraging the market trends.
Being the best to provide user experience services, Tru sees a lot of potential in the advancement of AI image generation to improve storytelling, refining the brand identity, and offering immersive experiences to users. We look forward to unfolding the future that the Ghibli trend brings, and offer digital experiences in more artistic, immersive, and AI-driven ways for better user engagement and high conversion rates.
Hence, the sooner businesses pave the road to data and marketing analytics, the higher they can yield the real benefits of digital marketing. Data optimization can not only help you consider keen attention to details for your user, but also play around with their business-particular actions, which will help in fast and more conversions.
