Back in March, while I was testing and reviewing the first iteration of OpenAI's image model, I gave the chatbot what I thought would be a simple test: Make me an infographic explaining the water cycle. That test ended up being something of a disaster. So when OpenAI announced its new 1.5 model and ChatGPT Images interface, I was ready to give it another go. Sadly, what I found was emblematic of the progress and persisting issues with generative media in 2025.
Stick with me a minute and recall when you first learned about the water cycle. For me, it was in elementary school, and we had a rhyming song to help us remember how water is transformed throughout the environment, from water vapor to clouds to rain. I vividly remember looking at different images and videos in class that explained the different phases.
So, for a company that says its chatbot's GPT-5 is as smart as a Ph.D., why can't its image models render a simple graphic of one of the most basic (or should we say, elementary) and well-documented geological processes?
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
This is much improved for ChatGPT, but it's still not perfect. The arrows aren't facing the correct directions. Created by Katelyn Chedraoui using ChatGPT
If I were to defend ChatGPT, I would point out that this newest infographic is much better than previous versions. The text is finally legible, a huge step up from even a month ago. It included all the phases and its sources, as requested. But the arrows are still wrong, with precipitation's vertical-facing arrow giving the impression that rain can fly upward from the ground. I asked it three more times after its initial fail, and the results were virtually identical.
With the original OpenAI image model, this took me more than 20 prompts and 2 hours to create. There are still errors. Created by Katelyn Chedraoui using ChatGPT
I am positive that nobody using the new ChatGPT Images feature is as invested as I am in its ability to correctly render the water cycle. Perhaps I'm being overly picky. But the problem highlights an ongoing issue with OpenAI: It may have one of the most widely used chatbots, but its creative services leave much to be desired. That didn't used to be a big problem -- until Google changed the game this summer.
This ChatGPT-made holiday card preserves my friends' and my features from the original photo (left) pretty well, but our skin still has that shiny AI look. Created by Katelyn Chedraoui using ChatGPT
OpenAI's ChatGPT Images vs. Google's Nano Banana
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