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Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Images 2.0 in April 2026, users in India have created more than one billion AI-generated images. The scale of adoption of OpenAI’s latest AI image generation feature also drew a response from CEO Sam Altman, who acknowledged the milestone on X.
ChatGPT Images 2.0 allows users to create detailed visuals from short text instructions, handle multilingual prompts, and generate images with more accurate text rendering. While AI image generation tools have often been associated with productivity and design-related tasks, their usage in India appears to be extending to creator-led content, fandoms, fashions, and social media trends.
Among the formats gaining visibility are stylised portraits, personalised avatars, and comic-inspired edits. Here are 10 prompts and styles that users are experimenting with via ChatGPT Images 2.0.
Cinematic Portrait Collage
This is a trend that involves turning ordinary photographs into layered portrait collages with warm tones, soft lighting, and editorial-style framing.
The prompt: “ Create a warm-toned cinematic portrait collage with golden-hour lighting, layered composition, floral close-ups and Indian fashion-inspired styling.”
Mini me World
Users are also creating miniature animated versions of themselves in everyday settings such as desks, bedrooms, or cafes.
The prompt: “Create a tiny 3D animated version of me interacting playfully with my surroundings with realistic lighting.”
Lighting Fix
Some users are using the tool for image correction. This includes adjusting harsh lighting while keeping the rest of the photograph unchanged.
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The prompt: “Correct the harsh or uneven lighting in this image to soft, natural light while keeping everything else untouched.”
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Chibi Sticker Pack
Personalised sticker packs featuring cartoon-style characters are also among the prompts being tried by a significant number of users. It typically includes expressive emotions and custom text.
The prompt: “Turn me into a personalised chibi sticker pack with different emotions such as happy, sad, confused, sleepy, along with custom text.”
Anime Transformation
Anime-inspired edits continue to feature among widely used formats, with users converting photographs into manga-style illustrations.
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The prompt: “Transform this image into a manga-inspired anime portrait with expressive eyes, stylised details and bold colours.”
Fashion Studio Portrait
Some users are generating portraits resembling professional studio shoots, complete with controlled lighting and complementary backgrounds.
The prompt: “Create an editorial-style fashion portrait with professional lighting, a complementary background and a polished studio look.”
Enhance
Image restoration is another use case, particularly for older or low-resolution photographs that users want sharpened or improved.
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The prompt: “Enhance and restore this image by improving sharpness, clarity and lighting while maintaining natural details.”
Travel Collage
Travel-themed prompts are also being used, where users place themselves inside postcard-style layouts featuring destinations and souvenir-inspired details.
The prompt: “Place me inside a travel-themed collage with postcard elements, destination landmarks and instant-photo styling.”
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Underwater Portrait
Another format users are experimenting with includes underwater-themed portraits featuring reflections, soft light and close-up compositions.
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The prompt: “Create an underwater portrait with soft natural lighting, water reflections and a calm visual style.”
Manga Comic Strip
Meanwhile, some users are turning themselves into characters in comic-style panels inspired by retro manga layouts.
The prompt: “Create a black-and-white manga comic strip with me as the main character in a three-panel story.”
The popularity of these prompts suggests that AI image generation in India is increasingly intersecting with creator culture and digital identity, rather than being restricted to conventional productivity-focused use cases. The volume of AI-generated visuals also points to growing familiarity among users with such AI tools as part of their everyday online expression.
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(This article has been curated by Shivani P Menon, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
