AI Image Detector – Check If an Image Is AI-Generated

How to check if an image is AI-generated

Click Choose an image or drag a file onto the drop zone. Use the original file wherever possible, not a screenshot or a copy saved from social media.
Click Check image. The tool reads the file's embedded metadata and runs an error level analysis.
Read the verdict at the top, then the Provenance and metadata list.
Look at the error level analysis and work through the Visual checklist, especially when the verdict says the result cannot be determined.

The image is analysed in your browser and is not uploaded. Metadata is read from JPG, PNG and WebP files; other formats such as AVIF or GIF get only the visual checks.

Why there is no AI percentage

We deliberately do not show an AI percentage. We tested the openly licensed image classifiers that can run in a browser, and they scored real photos and images from current generators close to random. A percentage from such a model looks precise but could lead you to call a real photo fake, or the reverse.

Instead, the tool reports evidence you can check: what the file says about its origin and where it shows signs of editing.

What the tool looks for

C2PA Content Credentials. A signed provenance record that cameras, editing apps and AI generators can attach to a file. When found, the tool shows the claim generator, the software that created the record. To check that the signature is valid, upload the image at contentcredentials.org/verify.
IPTC Digital Source Type. A standard field that states how an image was made. trainedAlgorithmicMedia means created by generative AI, compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia means edited or composited with generative AI, and digitalCapture means captured by a camera.
AI generator names in metadata. OpenAI (ChatGPT, DALL·E), Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI workflows, AUTOMATIC1111 and Forge generation parameters, Google Imagen and Gemini, Microsoft Designer and Bing Image Creator, Ideogram, Leonardo.Ai, FLUX, NovelAI and Runway.
Camera EXIF. Camera make and model, exposure time, f-number, ISO, focal length and the date the photo was taken.

Reading the verdict

Verdict	What it means
AI-generated or AI-edited, according to the file's own metadata	The file carries an AI source type or names an image generator. Generators and editing apps add these labels themselves, so this is the most reliable signal available.
Camera metadata found, no AI labels	The file has camera settings and no AI markers. That is consistent with a real photo, but EXIF data can be copied or edited.
No provenance information: cannot be determined automatically	The file says nothing about its origin. This is the usual result for images from the web and proves nothing either way.

The important asymmetry: metadata can show that an image is AI-generated, but missing metadata cannot show that it is real. Social networks and messaging apps usually strip metadata when an image is shared, and a screenshot never carries the original's metadata.

Error level analysis

Error level analysis (ELA) re-saves the image as a JPEG at quality 90 and amplifies the difference between the two versions. Areas that change a lot show up bright. In an untouched photo, similar surfaces such as a wall or the sky look similarly bright. A region that is much brighter or darker than comparable areas may have been pasted in, retouched or generated separately. Fully AI-generated images often show unusually even noise across the whole picture.

ELA is a forensic aid that needs interpretation. Edges and fine detail are always brighter, and a heavily recompressed image can look flat everywhere. Use it to decide where to look closer, not as a verdict.

The visual checklist

Hands, ears, teeth and jewellery: extra or merged fingers, mismatched earrings.
Text and logos: garbled letters on signs, labels and screens.
Physics: shadows and reflections that do not match the light, impossible architecture, objects melting into each other.
Texture: skin that is too smooth, repeating patterns in hair, grass or crowds.
Context: a reverse image search often finds the original source and date.

Current generators avoid many classic mistakes, so passing the checklist does not prove an image is real.

Tips

Ask the sender for the original file rather than a forwarded copy. Originals keep their metadata.
iPhone photos in HEIC format can be converted with HEIC to JPG, but check the original file first: conversion may drop metadata.

Tip: Before sharing a dramatic news photo, run a reverse image search. If it first appeared on an account that posts AI art, or in a different place and year, you have your answer.

Frequently asked questions

Can this tool tell if any image is AI-generated?

No tool can do that reliably today. This one gives a clear answer only when the file carries AI labels or Content Credentials. Otherwise it shows the evidence it found and leaves the decision to you.

Why does my AI image show "No provenance information"?

The metadata was probably removed, for example by a social network, a messaging app, a screenshot or an image editor that does not keep it. Some generators also do not label their output at all.

Is my image uploaded?

No. The metadata is read and the error level analysis is calculated in your browser.

Can metadata be faked?

Yes. EXIF and IPTC fields can be edited with ordinary tools. C2PA Content Credentials are cryptographically signed, which makes them much harder to forge; contentcredentials.org/verify checks the signature.