Generating Ad Images
The Ad image card in the AI Creative Studio creates an original promotional graphic from a text description — a visual to pair with your ad copy. The result appears on the page and you download it as a PNG file.
Why you would use it
- Your ad post needs a visual and you don't have a designer.
- You want a clean, on-brand background graphic for a Telegram placement.
- You're building a Subscriber Exchange ad or a storefront banner and want the creative made in place.
- You want something original rather than a stock photo other advertisers are also using.
Who can generate images
AI image generation is a paid, top-plan feature. It is the sharpest difference between the plan tiers on the AI side: on every plan below the threshold the image allowance is zero by design.
On a plan that doesn't include it, the Ad image card shows a lock panel headed "Unlock AI images" with a See plans button that takes you to https://onflowads.com/pricing.
The panel you get when you actually try to generate names the exact plan that unlocks AI images for your account, and how many images a month it includes. That message is generated from your live account and the current plan ladder, so treat it as the authoritative answer rather than any short summary line elsewhere on the page.
Image access has three separate conditions, all of which must be true:
| Condition | What it means |
|---|---|
| Plan | Your plan must be one of the top plans that include image generation |
| Reliability | Your reliability score must be in the Fair band or above — images are off while a score is recovering |
| Account standing | Your account must not have an open review |
The lock panel names which one is blocking you:
| Heading you see | Reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Unlock AI images | Your plan doesn't include images | Upgrade using See plans |
| Images limited right now | Your reliability is recovering | Complete commitments cleanly and on time until you're back to Fair |
| AI is paused | Your account has an open review | Nothing — images return automatically when the review is resolved |
How the image allowance is counted
Unlike text actions, images are metered on a monthly window as well as a daily one:
- The AI images this month meter at the top of the Studio shows your monthly usage and limit.
- A separate daily cap also applies, so a month's worth of images can't all be used in one sitting.
- Generation is blocked as soon as either window is full.
- The monthly window resets on the 1st of the month; the daily window resets at 00:00 UTC.
Your live numbers are always on the meter. See AI quotas and limits.
Step by step
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Open the Studio at https://onflowads.com/telegram/dashboard/ai-studio.
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Check the Ad image card. If you see the description box and a Generate image button, you're good to go. If you see a lock panel instead, read the heading — the table above says which condition is blocking you.
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Describe what you want in "Describe the image". For example: "a sleek phone showing a crypto wallet app, dark background, neon red accents." The field accepts up to 400 characters; anything longer is trimmed before the AI sees it.
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Click Generate image. The button disables itself and the status line reads "Generating… this can take a few seconds." Images take noticeably longer than text — it's normal for this to run for several seconds.
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The image appears right on the page, sized to the width of the card.
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Click Download to save it. The file is a PNG named
onflow-ai-image.png. -
Generate again if you want a different take. The button paces you for a few seconds first, and each attempt spends one image from your allowance.
What the images look like
Every image is produced as a clean, professional promotional graphic. By design the generator produces images with:
- no embedded text — add your own headline in the post or in an editor,
- no logos and no watermarks,
- no real people's faces.
This keeps the output safe to use in advertising without trademark or likeness problems. It also means the image is a background or a scene, not a finished ad — the words belong in your post.
Name the subject, the mood, and the colour scheme. "Minimal illustration of a rocket launching from a smartphone, dark navy background, gold accents" gives far better results than "cool crypto image." Asking for text inside the image will not work — that's deliberately excluded.
Statuses and outcomes
| What you see | What happened | Did it cost an image? |
|---|---|---|
| "Generating… this can take a few seconds." | The request is with the AI | Not yet — reserved, refunded if it fails |
| The image, plus a Download button | Success | Yes, one image |
| "Describe the image first." | The description box was empty or under three characters | No — nothing was sent |
| "That request breaks our content policy. Please try a different, on-topic prompt." | Your description matched a content rule | No |
| "The AI couldn't create that image just now — no image was used. Please try again in a moment." | The AI failed to produce an image | No — automatically refunded |
| "AI image generation is a top-tier feature, available on ... and above." (the message names the plan) | Your plan doesn't include images | No |
| "Image generation is limited while your reliability recovers." | Reliability wall | No |
| "You've used your AI image allowance." | Your allowance for the window is spent | No |
| "You've used your AI image allowance (daily and/or monthly). Daily resets at 00:00 UTC, monthly on the 1st." | One of the two image windows is full | No |
| "AI is paused on your account while a review is open." | Your account is under review | No |
| "Too many attempts. Please wait a minute and try again." | Too many requests in a short burst | No |
| "AI is temporarily unavailable. Please try again shortly." | The AI service is briefly down | No |
| "Please sign in again." | Your session expired | No |
| "Network error. No image was used." | Your connection dropped mid-request | No |
When you hit a plan or quota wall, the Studio shows a panel under the message with the specific next step — the plan that unlocks or raises images, or the reliability path, or simply the reset time if you're already at the top. That panel is generated without any AI call, so seeing it never costs you anything.
Rules and edge cases
- Failed generations are free. The image is reserved before the AI runs and handed straight back if anything fails. Any failure message says "no image was used."
- Content rules apply to image prompts too. Requests for adult, illegal, or deceptive imagery are declined before any image is generated and before any quota is spent. See Content rules for AI.
- Pacing applies here as well. After each attempt the button shows a short countdown before you can try again.
- Images are not stored for you. The Studio has no gallery. If you don't press Download, the image is gone when you generate another one or leave the page.
- Downloads are ordinary PNG files. Use them in Telegram posts, in a booking creative, or in any editor.
- A very long description is trimmed to the first 400 characters, so put the subject first and the styling notes after.
- An empty or three-character description is rejected locally — nothing is sent and nothing is spent.
- Reliability outranks your plan. Being on a plan that includes images is not enough on its own; a recovering reliability score switches images off until you're back in the Fair band. Reliability can't be bought, only earned.
AI images elsewhere in the product
The same image allowance powers image helpers outside the Studio:
| Where | Button | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Paid Promotions booking composer | 🎨 Generate image | Generates an ad photo straight into a media slot of your booking creative |
| Subscriber Exchange ad builder | 🎨 Generate image | Creates the ad creative in place |
| Boost White-Label storefront | 🎨 Generate hero | Designs your storefront's hero banner |
All of these draw from the same monthly image allowance you see on the Studio meter, and all of them are subject to the same plan gate. The storefront hero also requires the plan that includes the White-Label storefront itself. See AI helpers across Onflow Ads.
FAQ
What size are the images?
They arrive as a single PNG, generated at the size the model produces, and are displayed scaled to the card. Download the file to see the full resolution.
Can I ask for my logo in the image?
No. Logos, watermarks, and embedded text are excluded by design. Add your logo afterwards in any image editor.
Can I ask for a specific person or celebrity?
No. Images are generated without real people's faces, which keeps you clear of likeness problems in advertising.
Can I edit or re-roll an image?
There is no edit or variation button in the Studio. Adjust your description and generate again — each attempt spends one image from your allowance.
Why does the card show a lock even though I'm on a paid plan?
Read the lock heading. Unlock AI images means the plan itself doesn't include images; Images limited right now means reliability; AI is paused means an open review.
I generated an image and then reloaded the page — where did it go?
Images aren't stored. The result lives on the page until you generate another one or navigate away. Always press Download for anything you want to keep.
Does generating an image use my text allowance too?
No. Text and images are two separate allowances with two separate meters.
Next: AI helpers across Onflow Ads — the same AI, as buttons built into the rest of the product.