Can You Sell DALL-E 3 / ChatGPT Images? OpenAI Commercial Rights (2026)

Our agency is using DALL-E 3 through ChatGPT Plus for concept art and social media graphics for clients. Need clarity on:

• Do we actually own the images we generate?
• Any difference between ChatGPT-generated images vs DALL-E API?
• Can we use them in paid client work?
• Any restrictions on commercial use?

OpenAI's terms seem straightforward but I want to make sure we're not missing anything.

OpenAI's current terms (updated late 2025) are among the most permissive in the AI industry:

• Ownership: "As between you and OpenAI, and to the extent permitted by applicable law, you own all Input and Output" — this covers DALL-E images
• Commercial use: Explicitly permitted on all paid plans (Plus, Team, Enterprise)
• Free tier: Also permits commercial use, but with a key caveat — OpenAI reserves the right to use your inputs/outputs for training
• API: Same ownership terms, but you also get OpenAI's commitment not to use API inputs/outputs for training

Key restrictions to watch:

• Cannot generate images of real people without consent
• Content policy prohibitions (violence, sexual content, etc.)
• Cannot represent AI images as human-created in contexts where that matters (some FTC guidance emerging)

Been selling DALL-E 3 images on stock sites for about a year. A few practical notes:

• Adobe Stock accepts DALL-E images in their AI section
• Shutterstock has a dedicated AI-generated category
• Getty Images still does NOT accept AI-generated content
• iStock (owned by Getty) — same, no AI images

Revenue-wise, AI stock images sell for less than traditional stock. But the volume you can produce makes up for it. I'm averaging about $800/month from ~2,000 AI images across platforms.

@SarahE_Counsel that's reassuring. Follow-up question: if we generate images through ChatGPT Plus for a client deliverable, does the client automatically own the images? Or do we need to explicitly assign rights in our contract?

@creative_agency_la Important distinction: OpenAI assigns ownership to the account holder who generated the images — that's you/your agency, not your client. You need to transfer rights to the client through your service agreement.

Recommended contract language:

• Specify that deliverables may include AI-generated elements
• Include an IP assignment clause covering all deliverables including AI-generated content
• Consider a representation that you have proper licenses/rights to use AI tools commercially

Without explicit assignment in your contract, you technically retain ownership of the generated images even after delivering to the client.

One thing nobody mentions: the duplicate image problem. DALL-E 3 can theoretically generate similar images for different users from similar prompts. So "ownership" is a bit weird when someone else could generate something nearly identical.

For client work where uniqueness matters, I always do significant post-processing in Photoshop — compositing, color grading, adding text/branding. This also strengthens any copyright claim on the final work.