How to detect AI-generated images on your website

To detect AI-generated images, check three things: C2PA Content Credentials (tamper-evident provenance metadata that tools like Adobe Firefly attach), invisible generator markers such as Google's SynthID, and visual artifacts like distorted hands, garbled text, or inconsistent lighting. No single check is conclusive, so the practical approach is to combine them and treat the result as an estimate, not proof. This matters because AI images usually cannot be copyrighted, yet they can still infringe someone else's copyright.

Below is a step-by-step method for spotting AI-generated images, plus why disclosure and copyright risk both depend on getting this right.

Why detecting AI images matters for your website

There are two separate reasons to care whether an image on your site was made by AI.

The first is disclosure and trust. Search engines, ad networks, and some jurisdictions increasingly expect sites to label AI-generated visuals. Publishing synthetic images as if they were real photography can erode reader trust and, in regulated niches (finance, health, news), create compliance exposure.

The second is copyright risk, and this is where most site owners get caught off guard. AI images sit in an unusual legal position:

• They generally cannot be copyrighted by you. Under current US Copyright Office guidance, works lacking human authorship typically are not eligible for copyright protection. If you generated an image purely from a text prompt, you likely do not own an enforceable copyright in it, which affects how you can license or defend it.
• They can still infringe someone else's copyright. Generators are trained on huge datasets, and outputs sometimes reproduce protected elements: a recognizable character, a distinctive photograph's composition, or a stock-agency image the model absorbed. If an AI output closely mirrors a protected work, using it can trigger the same enforcement as any other unlicensed image.

That second point is the one that turns into demand letters. Enforcement firms like Higbee & Associates and PicRights pursue unlicensed image use aggressively, and Getty Images runs perceptual-hash crawling through PicScout to find matches across the web. In the US, statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. 504(c) range from $750 to $30,000 per work, up to $150,000 for willful infringement, and are available only for works registered in time (17 U.S.C. 412). Whether an image was "made by AI" is not a defense if the output copied a protected work.

If you want the deeper legal picture, see our guide on whether AI-generated images can be copyrighted.

Method 1: Read C2PA Content Credentials (provenance metadata)

The C2PA Content Credentials standard embeds tamper-evident provenance metadata directly into a file. When a supporting tool creates or edits an image, it records what generator was used and what edits were applied, then cryptographically signs that record so alterations become detectable.

Several AI tools attach these credentials automatically. Adobe Firefly is a notable example: images it produces carry Content Credentials that identify them as AI-generated. Adobe's own apps and the public verify tools can read the manifest back out.

How to check manually:

1. Open the image's metadata (many viewers show a "Content Credentials" or "cr" section).
2. Look for a signed provenance manifest naming a generative tool.
3. Note that the signature makes tampering evident, but it does not prove authenticity if the credential is simply absent. Plenty of AI images have no C2PA data at all.

Limitation: provenance metadata is easy to strip. Re-saving a file, screenshotting it, or running it through an editor that ignores C2PA can remove the credential entirely. So a present credential is strong evidence, but a missing one tells you nothing.

Method 2: Look for invisible AI markers like SynthID

Some generators embed markers that are invisible to the eye and designed to survive common edits. Google's SynthID is the best-known example: it watermarks the pixels themselves, so the signal can persist through cropping, compression, resizing, and color adjustments that would destroy ordinary metadata.

This is a meaningful complement to C2PA. Where Content Credentials live in the file's metadata and can be stripped, an invisible pixel-level marker travels with the image content. Detecting it usually requires the matching detector, which is why tooling matters here more than manual inspection.

Limitation: invisible markers only exist if the generator added them. Many models add nothing, and coverage varies by provider, so absence again proves little.

Method 3: Spot visual artifacts by eye

Before any tooling, a quick human review catches a lot. Common tells in AI-generated images:

• Hands and fingers: extra digits, fused fingers, impossible joints.
• Text: garbled or nonsensical lettering on signs, labels, and packaging.
• Symmetry and repetition: repeating background patterns, mismatched earrings, teeth that blur together.
• Lighting and reflections: shadows that fall the wrong way, reflections that do not match the scene, plastic-looking skin.
• Fine detail breakdown: jewelry, hair strands, and fabric weaves that dissolve into mush on close inspection.

Artifacts are getting rarer as models improve, so treat this as a first-pass filter, not proof. A clean-looking image can still be AI-generated, and a flawed one can still be a real photo.

Comparison: AI image detection signals at a glance

Signal	What it is	Survives edits?	Present on all AI images?	Best for
C2PA Content Credentials	Signed provenance metadata (e.g. Adobe Firefly)	No, easy to strip	No	Confirming AI origin when metadata is intact
Invisible markers (SynthID)	Pixel-level watermark	Often, by design	No	Detection after cropping/compression
Visual artifacts	Hands, text, lighting flaws	N/A	No, and fading	Fast human first pass
Reverse-image lookup	Finding the source or matches	N/A	N/A	Spotting reproduced protected works

The takeaway: no single method is reliable alone. A layered check that reads provenance, looks for known markers, and cross-references sources gives you a far better picture than any one signal.

How to check many images at once

Checking one image by hand is fine. Checking a whole WordPress site, a Shopify catalog, or a blog archive by hand is not realistic. This is where an automated scanner helps.

PixGuard account scans include an estimate of whether each image was AI-generated, alongside checks of EXIF, IPTC and XMP copyright fields, watermark text and logos from major stock agencies, and a match against a database of reference image fingerprints. The AI estimate comes from an image classifier, not from reading SynthID or other invisible marks, so treat it as one signal among several. Instead of a yes/no verdict, each image gets a per-image risk score from 0 to 100 with the reasons behind it, so you can prioritize what to review.

An important honesty note: PixGuard flags images for review and estimates copyright risk. It does not confirm infringement, and it is not legal advice. The goal is to surface which images on your site deserve a closer look, whether because they show signs of AI generation, match a reference image fingerprint, or lack a clear license trail.

With a free account, you can enter your site's URL (a scan follows links across up to 50 pages and checks up to 10 new images per scan on the free plan) or upload individual files. Without an account, you can run a free image copyright check: enter a page URL and we check the 3 largest images on that page, up to 3 times a day. Uploads and 30 image scans need a free account. That quick check looks for watermark patterns and other visual risk signals; it does not include the AI estimate. If you run WordPress, the PixGuard WordPress plugin connects your site to your account with an API key. For a step-by-step on auditing an existing site, our post on how to check your website's images for copyright walks through the full process.

What to do once you have flagged AI images

Finding them is step one. Then:

1. Decide on disclosure. If your niche or platform expects AI labeling, add it. Transparency is cheap insurance.
2. Assess reproduction risk. For any AI image that resembles a known work, character, or stock photo, treat it as higher risk and consider replacing it.
3. Fix your licensing trail. Because you likely cannot copyright a purely AI-generated image, do not rely on it as a "safe" original. Keep records of prompts and tools used, and check whether you can use AI images commercially under your plan's terms.
4. Replace anything ambiguous. When in doubt, swap in a properly licensed image or your own photography. The cost of a replacement is trivial next to a demand letter.

If a claim does arrive, US site owners have options beyond simply paying: checking and negotiating the claim, a DMCA counter-notification if a takedown removed content you have the right to use, and, if the claimant files with the Copyright Claims Board (CCB), the choice to take part or opt out. None of this is legal advice, and a lawyer should review any actual demand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you always tell if an image is AI-generated?

No. Detection depends on signals that may or may not be present. C2PA Content Credentials can be stripped, invisible markers like SynthID only exist if the generator added them, and visual artifacts are fading as models improve. The reliable approach is to layer multiple checks and treat the result as a risk estimate, not a certainty.

Are AI-generated images copyrighted?

Generally not by the person who prompted them. Under current US Copyright Office guidance, works without human authorship typically are not eligible for copyright. That said, an AI output can still infringe an existing copyright if it reproduces protected elements from its training data, so "it's AI" is not a defense against an infringement claim.

What is C2PA and how does it help detect AI images?

C2PA Content Credentials are tamper-evident provenance metadata embedded in a file. Supporting tools such as Adobe Firefly attach a signed record showing the image was AI-generated. If that credential is present and valid, it is strong evidence of AI origin, though a missing credential does not prove an image is human-made.

Does SynthID survive editing?

Google's SynthID is designed to be an invisible, pixel-level marker that persists through common edits like cropping, resizing, and compression, which typically remove ordinary metadata. Detection usually requires the matching detector, and coverage is limited to generators that add it.

Does PixGuard confirm an image infringes copyright?

No. PixGuard account scans check copyright metadata, stock-agency watermarks and fingerprint matches, and estimate whether an image was AI-generated, then return a per-image risk score. On Pro and Business, source lookup also shows web pages where a matching image appears. It flags images for review and estimates copyright risk. It does not confirm infringement and is not a substitute for legal advice.

Run a free scan

You cannot fix what you cannot see. A free account includes 30 image scans (valid for 30 days, no credit card): enter your site's URL or upload images, and PixGuard estimates which ones were AI-generated and flags stock watermarks and fingerprint matches, with a risk score for each image.