ByteDance Releases Seedream 5.5 Image Model

Chinese technology firm ByteDance’s artificial intelligence (AI) research division, ByteDance Seed, has published its AI model, Seedream 5.5, which is designed for professional design work. The model allows for up to 100 iterations without changing the color of unedited sections of an image. Images generated by Seedream 5.5 are also outputted in RGBA format, which supports transparency, and can render smaller fonts more legibly. According to ByteDance, the model outperforms OpenAI’s image generation model, GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst, in terms of both realism and text rendering.

In many cases, designers and studios may need to iterate on a single image multiple times (e.g., for ads or product card designs). In these scenarios, preserving previous versions of an image is often more important than producing a visually appealing initial draft. Errors made later in the design process can prove costlier than those made early on, and having a transparent background and clear text can save designers time by eliminating the need for post-processing. Should the purported superiority of Seedream 5.5 over GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst hold true in practice, competitors will likely need to improve their own image editing capabilities.