Check whether an image was made by AI

Is this image AI? A quick checklist

Run the image through a detector, then look for these signs. Several together are a strong hint; one on its own isn’t.

Three images we generated with an AI tool to show what these signs look like. Each one has one deliberate flaw, circled.

AI-generated example

AI-generated example

AI-generated example

• Hands and fingers: extra, missing or merged fingers, odd nails and joints.
• Text and logos: garbled letters on signs, labels and clothing.
• Lighting and shadows that don’t agree with each other.
• Backgrounds that melt, repeat or bend, and objects that merge into one another.
• Objects that don’t hold together: bicycle frames, chairs, fences or jewellery joined in ways that couldn’t exist.
• Skin that is too smooth, and hair that blurs into the background.
• Earrings, glasses and other accessories that don’t match on both sides.
• Reflections in mirrors, windows and eyes that don’t match the scene.

Check where the image came from

1. Run a reverse image search (for example Google Lens, Bing Visual Search or TinEye) to find the original and earlier copies.
2. Look at the account that posted it first, and whether trusted outlets used it.
3. Check the metadata. Some AI tools add content credentials (C2PA) or invisible watermarks such as Google’s SynthID, but a missing label doesn’t prove an image is real.
4. Look for other photos of the same moment taken from different angles.

What AI image detectors can and can’t tell you

A detector estimates how much an image looks like the output of AI image generators. It works best on original, unedited images. Screenshots, heavy compression, filters, crops and mixed images (a real photo with AI edits) are harder to judge, and new generators appear quickly.

Treat the probability as one clue, together with the source and the visual checks above.

Checking illustrations and AI art

Illustrations are harder to judge than photos, because artists also use smooth shading and stylised details. Look at the same details (hands, lettering, symmetry), ask for work-in-progress or layered source files, and compare with the artist’s earlier work.