How can I check if a photo is AI-generated?

The only factual check is reading the image's provenance record. Upload the image above: if it carries C2PA Content Credentials, you see which tool created it, including AI markers from tools like DALL·E, Adobe Firefly and licensed Midjourney integrations. If it has no credentials, no tool can give you a reliable answer, and that includes pixel-based AI detectors.

Can AI image detectors be wrong?

Yes, frequently and in both directions. Pixel-based detectors flag real photos as AI, especially edited, compressed or scanned images, and they let many AI images pass as real. Their accuracy also drops as new generator models are released, because they were trained on the artifacts of older ones.

Is this an AI detector?

No, and that is deliberate. This tool reads the C2PA Content Credentials embedded in an image, which is a cryptographic record rather than a statistical guess. It reports whether credentials exist, who signed them, whether AI generation was recorded, and whether the file was altered after signing.

The image has no Content Credentials. Does that mean it is AI?

No. Most images on the internet have no credentials. Either the camera or tool did not attach any, or a platform stripped the metadata on upload. Missing credentials mean the origin is unverified, not that the image is fake.

How do I prove my own photo is not AI-generated?

Verify it with the original RAW file. Your camera's RAW file contains sensor data that AI generators cannot fabricate consistently. Lumethic compares the RAW against your published JPEG and issues a report with strong forensic evidence that the photo comes from a real camera. No verification method offers mathematical proof, but the combination of independent physical checks sets a far higher bar than any detector score. It is free to try and requires no account.

Does this tool upload my image anywhere?

No. The analysis runs entirely in your browser using the open-source C2PA WebAssembly SDK. Your image never leaves your device. Only the optional quick provenance check further down uploads the photo to our servers for analysis.

How do I tell if a photo is AI-generated in 2026?

Start by reading its Content Credentials with this tool, then run the quick provenance check below to screen its metadata and compression history. Only after that look for visual artifacts such as malformed hands, garbled text or inconsistent shadows. Visual signs alone stopped being conclusive as photorealistic generators improved, so treat them as a reason to look closer rather than a final answer.

Can this tool check for the SynthID watermark?

Not directly. SynthID is an invisible watermark in the pixels, and only Google's and OpenAI's own services detect it, for example the Gemini app, "About this image" in Google Search, and OpenAI's Verify tool. What this checker reads is the second mark that ChatGPT and the OpenAI API attach to every generated image: the C2PA manifest. If that record is intact, it names the generator directly, with no probability score involved.

Can I check a screenshot or a PNG?

Yes. The browser check reads JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and HEIC files, and the quick provenance check accepts JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF, AVIF and GIF. Note that screenshots never carry the original's Content Credentials, because screenshotting creates a new image without the record. The quick check is usually the more informative check for them.

Is this AI image checker free?

Yes. The browser-based credentials check is free and unlimited, and the deeper quick provenance check is free as well, with no account required.

Lumethic

Check If a Photo Is AI-Generated

Upload an image and we read its Content Credentials, the signed record that tools like ChatGPT, DALL·E, Adobe Firefly and licensed Midjourney workflows attach to generated images. The check is free, runs in your browser, and your file is not uploaded anywhere.

Drag & drop a photo here, or click to select

JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, TIFF, SVG, DNG and ARW are supported

Choose a photo

Your photo is analyzed entirely in your browser, it is never uploaded.

C2PA test photos

Inspect a prepared test image in one click, or download it to test your own validator, plugin or workflow.

Download

No credentials found? Run the free quick provenance check

Most images carry no Content Credentials, and that alone proves nothing. Lumethic's server-side quick check goes deeper than the browser can: it screens the photo's metadata, compression history and manipulation traces and returns a report you can share. JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF and GIF are supported. Free, no account needed.

Have the camera's RAW file? A full verification compares it against the photo and gives you far stronger evidence.

What this checker can and cannot tell you

What it can tell you

Whether the image carries C2PA Content Credentials, and if so, which tool created or edited it, including recorded AI generation.
Whether the credentials are intact or the file was modified after signing.
Which camera or software produced the credential, when, and what edits were recorded.

What no tool can tell you

If an image has no credentials, no tool can prove whether it is real or AI-generated. Pixel-based AI detectors guess from statistical patterns. They regularly flag real photos as AI and let AI images pass as real.

This is not a limitation of this particular checker, it is the current state of the art. Detection accuracy drops with every new model generation, while a cryptographic record stays verifiable.

Read why AI detectors produce false positives

Do you need to show that your own photo is real?

Photographers who are asked for evidence, for example by a contest, a client or an editor, do not need a detector. Verify your camera's RAW file against the exported JPEG and you get a verification report you can share.

Verify your photo for free View a sample report

How the check works

Drop in an image

JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF. The file is analyzed locally in your browser with the open-source C2PA SDK. It never leaves your device.

We read the credentials

The checker parses the C2PA manifest: who created the image, with what tool, whether AI generation was recorded, and whether the signature still matches the pixels.

You see the result

You see what the image's provenance record says, and a clear note when there is no record to read. There is no probability score.

Common signs an image is AI-generated, and why they are no longer conclusive

Visual inspection was the original AI photo check, and the classic artifacts are still worth knowing:

Hands and fingers: extra, missing or fused fingers, impossible joints
Text and signage: garbled letters, invented alphabets, inconsistent fonts
Textures: waxy skin, hair strands that merge or dissolve, repeating patterns
Light and shadow: shadows pointing different directions, reflections that don't match the scene
Backgrounds: warped geometry, melted objects, crowds of distorted faces

Each new generator release removes some of these flaws, and current photorealistic models often pass casual inspection. Visual signs can justify a closer look, but they cannot settle the question on their own. A provenance record can answer it reliably.

The full guide: how to tell if a photo is AI-generated

AI detector vs. provenance check

	Pixel-based AI detector	Provenance check (this tool)
What it examines	Statistical patterns in the pixels	The cryptographically signed record attached at creation
Output	A probability score ("87% likely AI")	Facts: who signed, with what tool, whether AI generation was recorded
False positives	Common. Edited, compressed or scanned real photos get flagged	Does not apply. It reports the record or its absence and does not guess
Ages over time	Degrades with every new generator release	Stays verifiable as long as the signature does
Limit	Can be wrong while reporting high confidence	Most images have no record; absence proves nothing either way

Why this checker does not guess

Most AI image detectors run a classifier over the pixels and output a confidence score. Independent tests show that these classifiers err in both directions: heavily edited or scanned real photos get flagged as AI, while images from current generators often pass. A wrong answer with a confident percentage attached is worse than no answer.

The C2PA standard works the other way around. It records provenance when the image is created and protects the record cryptographically. The large AI generators now attach Content Credentials to their output, and several camera makers sign images in hardware. Reading that record yields facts rather than estimates. See which cameras support C2PA Content Credentials

Provenance instead of detection

Detection tries to judge from the pixels whether an image looks generated, and that judgement gets harder with every model generation. Provenance asks whether there is a verifiable record of where the image came from, which can be answered definitively. The transparency rules of the EU AI Act and the policies of the large photo contests rely on provenance for the same reason.

Provenance vs. AI detection, explained in depth

Frequently asked questions

This checker reads C2PA Content Credentials. The absence of credentials does not mean an image is AI-generated, and their presence reflects what the signing tool recorded. The analysis runs entirely in your browser.