Getty Images announced a multi-year display agreement with OpenAI that will put its licensed content libraries inside ChatGPT's search and discovery features, sending Getty Images stock up about 200% in premarket trading on Monday.
Financial terms were not disclosed, and both companies stayed silent on the question of whether Getty's content might feed into future OpenAI model training, Bloomberg reported.
"High-quality, licensed visual content makes AI-powered search and discovery more useful and more trustworthy," Getty Images CEO Craig Peters said in a statement. "This partnership with OpenAI reflects a shared recognition of that, and together we will deliver richer visual experiences to ChatGPT users."
Before Monday's surge, shares had shed roughly 55% of their value over the course of the year, ending Friday's session at 61 cents.
The OpenAI deal marks a notable turn for Getty, which had resisted working with AI companies. A ban on AI-generated art across Getty's platform took effect in September 2022, followed by a lawsuit against Stability AI alleging copyright infringement — though that legal action was ultimately dismissed late last year, Engadget noted. Getty also developed its own generative AI image tool, trained on its own library.
Getty began to change its approach in October 2025 by making a licensing deal with Perplexity AI. Perplexity AI could use Getty's library as long as image credits and source links were included with any content shown. The OpenAI agreement is similar, but the details about image crediting have not been shared.
OpenAI has been building out licensing relationships with media and content companies as it expands ChatGPT into new areas including advertising. OpenAI opened its self-serve Ads Manager to all U.S. businesses earlier this year, broadening a platform that had previously required a minimum $50,000 commitment.
Getty Images works with nearly 600,000 content creators and covers more than 160,000 news, sports, and entertainment events each year, the company said. Regulators have yet to sign off on Getty's pending $3.7 billion deal to acquire competitor Shutterstock.