How to Check Whether an Image Discloses AI Use

An image can look convincing and still be synthetic. It can also look unusual and be a real photograph. One useful starting point is to inspect its recorded provenance: the information embedded in the file about its creation and edits.

Use the free image Content Credentials checker to inspect JPEG, PNG or WebP files locally in your browser.

Start with the original file

Use the original download or camera file where possible. A screenshot is a new image; it does not necessarily retain the original’s credentials. Editing, export settings and distribution services can also change or remove metadata.

The absence of credentials is common enough that it cannot answer the AI question. A missing record means you need other evidence.

Look for an explicit declaration

C2PA actions can include standard digital source types. trainedAlgorithmicMedia declares AI-generated content. compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia describes a composite involving AI-generated material. algorithmicallyEnhanced describes algorithmic enhancement and should not be treated as proof that the entire picture was generated by AI.

A software name alone is insufficient. An editing tool can be used for ordinary cropping as well as generative edits. Our checker reports the active credential’s source declarations separately from its reported software.

Read integrity and trust separately

A cryptographic integrity check asks whether the credential and its binding to the image validate. Trust asks whether the signer is recognised under a particular trust policy. Neither makes the content of a scene true.

For example, a signed record can accurately describe editing applied to a misleading photograph. A valid record from an unfamiliar signer also deserves a different assessment from a record issued through a recognised trust chain.

File Sniff’s browser checker performs local integrity checks. It does not load a public trust list or query certificate revocation services, so it does not establish signer trust. It shows available declarations even when validation fails, but warns you not to rely on them.

What if the result is unknown?

Ask for the original, trace where it was published, and compare it with independent sources. If the image is being used to support an important claim, the surrounding evidence matters as much as the file.

Do not treat “no AI declaration” as a human-made certificate. Credentials can be absent, incomplete, removed or stored remotely. This checker deliberately leaves those cases uncertain.

Why no AI probability score?

This tool reads provenance records. It does not run a visual classifier and does not assign a percentage to whether an image is AI-generated. Its useful output is the evidence it can show and the limits of that evidence.

Learn more from the C2PA explainer, or check an image’s credentials.