How to Tell if an Image Is AI-Generated (2026 Guide)
AI image generators have become good enough that many people can no longer tell a synthetic photo from a real one at a glance. The good news: there are reliable ways to check, and the strongest of them take seconds.
1. Check for embedded AI metadata
The fastest and most reliable test is to read the file's metadata. OpenAI, Adobe Firefly, Microsoft Designer and Google attach Content Credentials to images they generate. Stable Diffusion tools store the prompt and model in PNG files. Drop the original file into our AI image detector to read all of it at once.
2. Get the original file, not a screenshot
Screenshots and most social platforms strip metadata. If you can, download the image from its original source or ask the sender for the file itself.
3. Look closely at hands, teeth and ears
Modern models handle anatomy better than before, but extra or fused fingers, irregular teeth and asymmetric ears and earrings still appear, especially in background figures.
4. Read the text in the image
Signs, labels and book spines often contain garbled or almost-right lettering. Text that dissolves into nonsense on close inspection is a common giveaway.
5. Check physics: light, shadows and reflections
Look for shadows that fall in different directions, reflections that don't match the scene, and objects that merge into each other or into the background.
6. Run a reverse image search
Google Lens, Bing Visual Search and TinEye can show where an image first appeared. A news photo with no earlier source and no photographer credit deserves suspicion.
7. Consider the source and context
Who posted it, when, and why? Images that appear during breaking news, show celebrities in implausible situations, or provoke strong emotion are the ones most often faked.
Bottom line
Metadata gives you proof when it's there. When it isn't, combine visual inspection, reverse search and source checking. No single clue is decisive on its own.