Image Generator creates unique images with OpenAI GPT Image, using your own OpenAI API key. Use them in the editor, from the Media Library, as automatic featured images, or as the photo inside a template.
Setting up your API key
- Sign in at platform.openai.com and create an API key under API keys.
- Add a payment method to your OpenAI account — image generation needs billing, even for small amounts.
- Go to Image Generator → Settings → AI Service, paste the key into API Key, and click Save Changes.
After saving, only the last 4 characters of the key are shown. Leave the field empty to keep it, enter a new key to replace it, or tick Remove the saved API key.
More secure: define the key in wp-config.php instead, so it’s never stored in the database:
define( 'AIMG_API_KEY', 'sk-your-key-here' );The settings page detects the constant and disables the field.
Models
Choose under Settings → AI Service → Image Model:
| Model | Best for |
|---|---|
| GPT Image 2.5 Flare (default) | Fast, everyday images at a lower cost |
| GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst | OpenAI’s most capable model, for hero images |
| GPT Image 2 | The previous generation |
Models OpenAI has retired (GPT Image 1, DALL·E 2 and DALL·E 3) are no longer offered; sites that used them switch to GPT Image 2.5 Flare automatically.
Writing prompts
In the editor’s Custom Prompt tab, describe the image — the more specific, the better. "a sunlit forest path in autumn, photorealistic, soft lighting" beats "forest". Click Write a prompt from this post to start from the post’s title and excerpt.
For automatic images, the AI Prompt setting is a template filled in for each post. The default is:
A featured image for an article titled "{title}". The article is about: {excerpt}
Use {title}, {excerpt}, {category}, {tags}, {site_name} and {custom_field:key} — see Merge Tags. Two more settings shape every automatic prompt:
- AI Style — Photorealistic (default), Flat illustration, 3D render, Watercolor, Minimal line art, Cinematic, Isometric or None. Each adds a short style description to the prompt.
- AI Instructions — added to the end of every prompt. The default, "Do not include any text, letters, words, logos or watermarks in the image.", avoids the garbled text AI models tend to draw. Want text on the image? Use a photo template and add the title as a text layer — it’s always spelled right.
Shape and quality
- Shape — square, landscape or portrait. Set the default for the editor under Default Image Shape and for automatic images under AI Image Shape; it can be changed per image in the editor.
- Quality — Automatic, Low (cheapest), Medium, High, Extra high or Maximum (most expensive). Extra high and Maximum need GPT Image 2.5; GPT Image 2 uses High instead.
- Variations — in the editor, generate up to 4 at once and keep the one you like; the rest are removed from the Media Library.
High-quality images can take a while; the plugin waits up to 3 minutes for OpenAI.
Controlling costs
You pay OpenAI directly, per image, at their current prices — larger shapes, higher quality and more variations cost more. The plugin adds no markup. Three settings keep spending predictable:
- Who Can Generate AI Images — Authors and above (default), Editors and above, or Administrators only. Templates and stock photos stay available to everyone who can upload files.
- Hourly Limit per User — default 20 AI images per user per hour; 0 for no limit. Automatic AI images count against the post author’s limit.
- Drafts are free — automatic AI images are only created once a post is published or scheduled, and a failed image isn’t retried on every save.
Tip: Use templates for everyday posts and save AI for standout articles — or use Image template, AI if no template is available as your automatic method.
Privacy
Only the prompt is sent to OpenAI: the text you type, or — for automatic images and Write a prompt from this post — the prompt built from your AI Prompt setting, which by default includes the post’s title and excerpt. No visitor or user data is sent. Nothing is sent at all until you add an API key and generate. See OpenAI’s terms of use and privacy policy.
Other AI services
Developers can point the plugin at another OpenAI-compatible service with the aimg_generate_endpoint and aimg_generate_request_body filters, or register a completely different provider with aimg_providers — see the Developer Reference.