True! Plus, the WordPress query loop doesn't play well with mixes of images and no images if you have a grid layout. That's still a limitation and why I've experimented with building a masonry query loop plugin.

Now, I do think that you can close the gap with using something like Jetpack AI image generator, which I've been using successfully for a while now. It will automatically generate an image based on your content, and you can prompt and customize one to make it more to your liking.