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AI image detector by generator

DALL·E 3 AI image detector: read the signed record

A DALL·E 3 image downloaded from ChatGPT or the OpenAI API carries C2PA Content Credentials that name OpenAI as the signer, and isGenAI validates that signed record and shows the recorded AI action.

Facts checked against vendor documentation in October 2026. Updated .

Check an image nowFrequently asked questions
Controlled example PNG file that carries this record: Content Credentials found

test-signed.pngPNG file · controlled example

  1. Signature + IHDR
  2. iTXt XML:com.adobe.xmp
  3. tEXt parameters
  4. tEXt prompt / workflow
  5. tEXt invokeai_metadata
  6. eXIf
  7. caBX C2PA manifestrecord
  8. IDAT pixels
  9. IEND

Content Credentials found

A signed manifest describes how the file was made.

Signer, recording tool, actions and the signature check result are reported separately, so you can weigh each one.

Open the Content Credentials checker →
Content Credentials found: where this record sits inside a PNG file and what the isGenAI report says about it. The picture is a code-drawn controlled example that carries this record; download it and check it yourself.

What OpenAI writes into DALL·E 3 images

OpenAI began attaching C2PA metadata to DALL·E 3 images in February 2024, for both ChatGPT and the API. Its help article now states that images generated with ChatGPT, Codex and the API include C2PA metadata and a SynthID watermark, and that ChatGPT images carry an additional reference to their ChatGPT origin. The manifest records that an AI tool generated the picture and is signed with OpenAI’s certificate.

OpenAI is equally clear about the limits: most social platforms remove metadata, a screenshot removes it, and an image without the metadata may or may not have come from OpenAI. That is exactly the stance isGenAI takes in its reports.

What isGenAI shows for a DALL·E 3 file

Upload the original PNG or WebP and the report shows a signed creation record: the validation state (signature intact or not), whether the signer is on a trust list, the claim generator and the recorded actions. A valid signature with a digital source type of trainedAlgorithmicMedia is listed as strong, direct evidence that AI was used.

The checker separates signature validity from signer trust, because a valid signature from an unknown certificate proves integrity but not identity. Both facts are printed, with the manifest labels, so you can retrace the conclusion.

After a screenshot or a social repost

A screenshot has no manifest, and a repost through most feeds loses it. OpenAI says the SynthID watermark is meant to carry a signal when metadata is gone, but reading that watermark is a Google and OpenAI capability, not something isGenAI does. isGenAI reads the file’s records and records matching copies by hash and fingerprint.

If the credential is missing, try the C2PA checker on an earlier copy, ask for the original export, or search for the first publication. A missing credential is an absence of evidence, nothing more.

How to check an image from this generator

  1. Get the original download, not a screenshot or a copy saved from a chat or social feed.
  2. Upload it to the free AI image detector. Files up to 20 MiB in PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF or TIFF are read on the server and are private by default.
  3. Open “How we checked” and read each finding with its source field: signed record, declared source type, saved prompt, AI statement or matching copy.
  4. Treat a clean result as “no evidence found”, never as proof that a person made the picture.

Check an image now

Frequently asked questions

Does DALL·E 3 add C2PA metadata?

Yes. OpenAI documents that DALL·E 3 images from ChatGPT and the API carry C2PA Content Credentials signed by OpenAI, and that its generated images also include a SynthID watermark as of October 2026.

Is a DALL·E 3 image detectable after a screenshot?

Not from the file record. A screenshot drops the C2PA manifest. OpenAI says an invisible watermark may still carry a signal, but isGenAI does not read pixel watermarks; it reports that no file evidence was found.

What does isGenAI show for a valid DALL·E 3 credential?

A signed creation record with the validation state, trust state, claim generator and the recorded AI generation action, listed as strong direct evidence. Signature validity and signer trust are reported separately.

Why does a DALL·E 3 file from ChatGPT show no credential?

The copy may have been re-saved, converted, screenshotted or passed through an app that strips metadata. OpenAI itself notes that an image without the metadata may or may not have been generated with its tools.

Sources

Vendor behaviour changes. These pages describe what the vendor documents and what isGenAI reads from a file; they do not test every release.