How to tell if an image is AI-generated

The 5 checks at a glance

Evidence is what tells you whether an image is AI-generated, so check the file and its source before judging how it looks.

1. Find the original copy. Screenshots and reposts strip creation details; the original download keeps them.
2. Look for Content Credentials. A signed C2PA record states whether AI generated or edited the image.
3. Look for AI labels in the metadata. An IPTC digital source type or a saved statement declares AI generation outright.
4. Look for a saved prompt or workflow. Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI and InvokeAI files keep their generation settings.
5. Trace earlier copies and the publisher. The first appearance and its credits add context no single file can.

A file with none of these is a verified clean copy whose origin stays open, which is a far more useful answer than a guess from appearance.

Visual clues: what to look at, and why it is not enough

Most people start by looking. These are the clues worth a second look, and each one is a reason to check the file, not a verdict:

• Hands, teeth and ears. Extra or fused fingers were a classic tell; current generators get them right most of the time.
• Text and signs. Garbled lettering on signs, labels or jerseys still shows up, but many models now render clean text.
• Lighting, shadows and reflections. Shadows that point different ways, or a reflection that does not match, hint at a composite or a generated scene.
• Backgrounds and repeated detail. Melting railings, merged crowds or patterns that repeat too neatly.
• Skin and texture. An overly smooth, airbrushed finish, which phone beauty filters also produce.

None of these proves anything on its own: real photos have odd shadows and heavy filters, and good AI images have none of the flaws. That is why the checks above start from the file and its source. A visual clue tells you which picture deserves a proper check.

1. Choose the copy to check

Use the original download whenever you have it. It holds far more creation details than a screenshot or repost, because editing and sharing strip those details away.

Keep the page link and caption too. They take you straight back to the source when you review the result.

2. Run an isGenAI image check

One upload runs checks 2 to 4 together: the report lists every signed record, AI label and saved prompt it found.

1. Open the AI image detector and choose the image tab.
2. Select Check my image now or drop in a PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF or single-page TIFF up to 20 MiB (20,971,520 bytes). The check starts the moment you choose the file.
3. Read the result. Open How we checked to see every detail.
4. Review What we found and Checks run for the findings and the checks that finished.
5. To go deeper on a signed creation record, open the signed image record checker.

For a scan or archive file, follow the TIFF checking guide. TIFF uploads are single-image files with no subimages or pyramids and at most 40 million pixels; multipage TIFF and BigTIFF are rejected up front. A missing browser preview changes nothing about the check itself.

Image uploads are private by default and processed on isGenAI’s server. Public links create public reports. The privacy policy spells out exactly what is saved.

3. Understand your result

Your result names the evidence it found. A clean result is a verified clean copy, and the report tells you so in those words.

AI evidence found

Open the report to see exactly what connects the image to AI: a creation record, saved prompt, label or matching copy in our records. A saved prompt or label records what someone declared about the file; the report shows it as the editable declaration it is.

AI label found

The page or file says AI was used. The report shows the exact wording we found.

No AI evidence found

The check read this copy and found no AI record. If you checked a screenshot, try the original download, which carries the saved details a screenshot leaves behind.

Evidence conflicts or check incomplete

Open the report to see which details disagree or which check did not finish. Try the original file, or report the problem below your result.

A signed creation record

This records how a file was made or edited. Read the recorded actions to see whether AI was used. The report checks the signature and the signer separately, the way the standard intends.

4. Same picture, different saved details

Two copies with identical pixels return different results, because the check reads saved details that editing and sharing strip away. Try our small example:

1. Download the picture with saved details and the picture without saved details.
2. Upload each file to the checker. Open How we checked and compare Saved file details.
3. Use Save report to keep the findings next to the file you checked.

In our controlled check on 6 September 2026, the first copy returned AI label found; the second came back clean, with no AI evidence. The pixels were identical. Removing saved details changed what the check could find, exactly as it should.

We drew this example in code and deliberately added a sample AI prompt to one copy. The picture was not made from that prompt. It is a demonstration of how editable file details work, which is precisely what the checker reads.

A screenshot has lost its creation history

Find a download from the original publisher and check that file too. A screenshot drops the details that identify the camera, editing app or AI tool.

A file contains a saved generation prompt

Select Reveal the saved prompt to read the prompt saved in the file, word for word. The report also shows the AI model name recorded alongside it.

An image has a signed editing history

Review the recorded tools and actions, such as cropping, retouching or AI generation. Check the signature result and who signed the record.

Find the prompt saved in an image

The original file holds the saved prompt, and isGenAI reads it word for word.

Open the free image prompt extractor and upload the original image. isGenAI reads prompts saved by AUTOMATIC1111, ComfyUI and InvokeAI, including Flux workflows. Copy the saved text straight from your result.

Stable Diffusion and AUTOMATIC1111 images

Use the original PNG, JPEG or WebP download. isGenAI reads the generation settings saved inside these files, including the prompt. A JPEG or WebP carries these details too, so skip the PNG conversion: it adds nothing and can strip useful information.

ComfyUI and Flux images

Use an original PNG with its saved ComfyUI workflow. isGenAI follows the steps connected to the saved image and finds its prompt. Some workflows combine reference images, several prompts or multiple stages, and the report identifies the saved AI workflow even when there is no single prompt to copy.

InvokeAI images

Use the original PNG download. isGenAI reads InvokeAI creation settings and recovers the saved prompt, negative prompt and model name. When a file holds different main and style prompts, the checker identifies the creation record and points you to the full workflow instead of presenting one part as the whole prompt.

Why did my screenshot return no saved prompt?

A screenshot copies the picture and leaves the instructions saved in the original file behind. Reposts and edited exports lose those instructions too. Download the original file from its creator and check that copy.

Is a saved prompt the same as a recreated prompt?

A saved prompt is text read from your file. A recreated prompt is a new suggestion for making something similar. isGenAI labels exactly which one you receive. Reading a saved prompt uses no AI model call; when none is found, Reveal the saved prompt can suggest a new one only where that feature is switched on.

Saved settings are editable, so keep the original source alongside your report. For a repeatable file-checking workflow, use the AI check API guide.

Download the image review worksheet to record the original source, copies, AI labels, checks and follow-up questions. Free to reuse in a newsroom, classroom or research workflow.

5. Keep a useful record

A useful record names the copy you checked, the exact result and the checks that ran.

Select Save report below your result to download a text file, or Copy report to paste it into your notes. It includes the result, file ID and checks run, and leaves out your upload and pasted content.

Use this short checklist when you need to explain your conclusion to someone else:

• Question: What claim about the image are you checking?
• Copy: File name, source URL, retrieval date, and whether it is an original download, repost or screenshot.
• Finding: Exact result label, main clue, checks completed, and checks unavailable.
• Supporting detail: Saved AI label, prompt, signed creation record or matching copy.
• Next step: Try the original file, check the publisher or report a problem.

To check whether a caption tells the truth about an event, compare it with the original source and independent reporting.

Follow the clue to its next step

A saved prompt, a workflow and a signature answer different questions. Use the file’s actual result to choose a worked guide.

• Read the AUTOMATIC1111 prompt and settings in a controlled file.
• Extract a ComfyUI graph when one text prompt is not enough.
• Compare identical pixels with different saved records before drawing a conclusion from editable metadata.
• Verify Content Credentials for the separate manifest and validation result.

All three worked guides include downloadable permitted files and observed output. Browse the full guide collection.