Getty Images signed a multi-year deal to show its licensed photos inside ChatGPT search and discovery.
The stock spiked near 200% before the open but closed about 90% up, not 200% on the day.
It is a display-only deal, so OpenAI cannot use Getty’s library to train its models.
Getty Images had one of its biggest trading days in years after announcing a partnership with OpenAI. The viral version says the stock “surged 200% in one day.” That number needs a correction, but the deal underneath it is real and it matters.
What the deal is
On June 21, 2026, Getty announced a multi-year display partnership with OpenAI. Licensed images from Getty, iStock, and its editorial archive will appear inside ChatGPT’s search and discovery experiences.
So when you ask ChatGPT something that needs a real photo, a news event, a public figure, a place, it can show a rights-cleared Getty image instead of a generated one. CEO Craig Peters said licensed visual content makes AI search more useful and more trustworthy.
The stock move, accurately
Here is where the screenshot oversells it. Getty shares jumped around 200% in premarket trading, then rose as much as 145% once the market opened, and closed about 90% higher at $1.15. That was still Getty’s best session since July 2022, but a roughly 90% close is not a 200% day.
For context, the stock had been near penny-stock territory, closing at 61 cents the Friday before, down about 55% on the year, and was facing a sub-$1 delisting warning from the NYSE.
Why it matters
The deal validates a real idea. AI cannot generate its way around licensed, verified editorial photography of actual events and people. That category did not disappear with generative AI, it became more valuable, because AI platforms need a trustworthy image source without copyright or accuracy risk. Getty already struck a similar display deal with Perplexity in October 2025.
The fine print
A few honest caveats. Financial terms were not disclosed, and Getty has not said how much of the money reaches the 600,000 contributors whose work fills its library.
The screenshot also says Getty’s Stability AI lawsuit is “still working through the courts,” but the main US case was largely rejected late last year, with Getty winning only a narrow point in the UK. And Getty is still mid-merger, awaiting final clearance on its $3.7 billion Shutterstock deal.
Quick Links: