How to tell if a photo was made with AI

Updated 14 November 2026

AI image tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney and FLUX now make photos that look like they came from a phone. The old tricks (count the fingers, look for melted text) catch fewer of them every month. This guide covers what still works, what doesn't, and how to check a photo quickly.

Check a photo now

1. Look at the details nobody checks

AI tools get the main subject right and slip on the background. Zoom in on:

Text and signs in the background: shop names, number plates, posters. AI text is often almost-words.
Hands, jewellery and glasses: earrings that don't match, a ring merging into a finger, glasses with two different frames.
Hair against the background: strands that fade into the wall, or a halo that looks painted.
Repeated things: crowds of similar faces, identical windows, tiles or leaves that repeat too neatly.
Light and shadows: a face lit from the left while the shadows fall to the left too, or reflections in mirrors and windows that don't match the room.

The newest tools make far fewer of these mistakes. If you find one, it is a strong sign; if you find none, that proves nothing.

2. Ask where the photo came from

Search for it. A reverse image search (Google Lens, Bing Visual Search, TinEye) shows where the photo appeared first. A real news photo usually has a photographer, a place and other photos of the same moment. An AI photo often appears out of nowhere, already cropped and shared.
Look for other angles. A real event is photographed by many people. One perfect photo and nothing else is a warning sign.
Check the account. New accounts, stolen names and "too good to be true" offers go together with AI photos.

3. Check the photo's hidden labels

Some AI tools add a hidden label: OpenAI and Adobe add Content Credentials (C2PA) to the file, and Google adds an invisible watermark (SynthID). These help when they survive, but they are easy to lose: WhatsApp, Instagram and screenshots remove the file's labels, and many tools add none at all. A photo without a label is not proof that it is real.

4. Use a checker, and read the answer carefully

A detector looks at the pixels themselves, not at labels, so it still works on a forwarded or screenshotted copy. Real or AI gives one of three answers:

Likely AI: the photo has the patterns AI tools leave.
Can't tell: the signs point both ways. Treat the photo with care and use the steps above.
No signs of AI: we found no AI patterns. That is not a promise that the photo is real or unedited; no tool can promise that.

No detector is right every time, ours included. Use the answer together with where the photo came from, especially before you share it or act on it.

Signs that no longer work

"Too smooth skin": phone cameras and beauty filters smooth skin too, and AI tools now add pores and grain.
Six fingers: rare in 2026's tools.
"It looks too good": good photographers exist. Judge the details, not the quality.