How to Spot AI-Generated Photos: 7 Clues Brands Can’t Afford to Miss

AI-generated photos are becoming harder to spot — and easier to misuse. When brands rely on low-quality AI imagery, the result can be more than just a cheap-looking campaign. It can quietly erode authenticity, mislead audiences, and even create legal or reputational fallout.

The tricky part? Most people think they can tell the difference between real and AI-generated images — but few actually can. In a recent Clutch survey, two out of three consumers felt confident they could identify AI-generated photos, yet slightly more than half (57%) failed to spot the fakes when tested.

That confidence gap matters. As AI tools flood marketing workflows, knowing what to look for has never been more important. The good news is that a few visual cues can help you separate the authentic from the artificial.

Here are the top seven signs of AI-generated photos, and why catching them early protects your brand’s credibility.

Top 7 Signs of AI-Generated Photos

How can you tell if an image is AI-generated? It all comes down to "where" and "how" to look for the telltale signs. Here are the top seven traits of AI images:

1. Anatomical Errors in Hands and Fingers

AI struggles with human anatomy, so if your photo has hands in it, start there. Even the most advanced AI models still make mistakes with finger counts, joint structure, or nail detail across every pose. You'll often see extra knuckles, fused fingers, or rings that blend into the skin.

Why models struggle here comes down to messy training data and anatomical complexity. Hands occupy a small portion of many photos and appear in countless poses and occlusions. That combination leads to gaps in spatial understanding, so AI generators repeat surface patterns without a full grasp of bone and tendon geometry.

How To Tell

• Zoom in on fingertips, rings, and nails.
• Trace each finger from base to tip.
• Look for extra digits or shortened fingers and twisted joints.
• Check whether both hands match in size and vein detail.

Why It Matters

If a lifestyle shot nails the vibe, but a hand looks fake, your audience will notice. Once they spot the flaw, they may question the rest of the assets associated with your brand. Catching these signs early can save revisions and avoid potential brand reputation risk.

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2. Odd Background Details and Duplications

Look beyond the image's subject — AI image generators often cut corners in the background. This can take the form of blurry or oversimplified areas, or it can look like patterns that don't follow the rules of how things work in real life.

How To Tell

• A quick scan of corners, frames, and depth works well.
• Scan left to right and trace lines that should be straight.
• Look at how patterns break.
• If there's glass or reflective surfaces, check the reflections for any mistakes.

Why It Matters

Background mistakes undermine your brand's credibility. Even if your subject looks perfect, a warped lamp or cloned plant undermines the entire frame, and your audience might pick up on the perceived carelessness.

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3. Light–Shadow Mismatches

Lighting inconsistencies are dead giveaways for AI-generated images. In real photos, light comes from one or two consistent sources, but AI scenes often mix soft and hard shadows, flip the direction of shadows between objects, or drop cast shadows entirely. That mismatch breaks realism even if viewers can't put their finger on why.

How To Tell

• Consider the light direction.
• Check whether hair highlights, nose shadows, and product edges agree with the light.

Why It Matters

Inconsistent lighting makes your visuals feel fake, which can hurt conversions and erode customer trust. In some cases, it can even create legal risk if the image misrepresents your product.

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4. Broken Text, Logos, and Fonts

AI image generators still struggle to render crisp, coherent typography inside complex scenes. For instance, store signage may bend into gibberish, logo letters may become unrecognizable, and book cover designs may have spelling mistakes.

How To Tell

• Zoom on packaging, badges, and street signs.
• Compare letter shapes across repeated words.
• Look for inconsistent shape and baseline wobble.

Why It Matters

Jumbled letters or gibberish text on packaging, products, or signage immediately raises questions about your brand's credibility and your product's authenticity. Text errors are easy to catch, which makes the oversight feel careless rather than accidental or stylistic.

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5. Facial Feature Anomalies

Faces carry most of the emotional load in a photo. A face also attracts the most attention, and even small mistakes stand out. These flaws often show up more in busy scenes where the AI generator has to create multiple components within a single image.

How To Tell

• Look for disproportionate facial features.
• Eyes can be slightly misaligned, or the iris patterns look painted.
• Facial hair may blur into skin or end abruptly.

Why It Matters

Viewers fixate on faces, so any distortion — no matter how small — feels wrong and pulls focus from your message. That discomfort can break trust instantly.

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6. Unreal Skin Texture and Mirror Symmetry

AI often makes skin look too perfect. Real skin has subtle natural imperfections. Most cameras capture those micro-variations that make photos feel authentic. However, AI output can erase all of that and leave a plastic, airbrushed finish.

How To Tell

• AI skin often looks waxy with poreless cheeks and flawless symmetry.
• Makeup appears airbrushed with no noise or natural texture.

Why It Matters

Audiences value honest images, especially ones that are used for healthcare, fitness, and beauty content. If your products or people are too perfect, customers will be suspicious. This deception undermines ad campaigns that depend on human warmth and credibility.

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7. Repeating, Blurred, or Smudged Textures

Generative AI models love repeating brush-like artifacts and copy-paste textures. You may also notice blurred trails that ignore depth.

How To Tell

• Look for repeated “brushstroke” textures.
• A close look at fabrics, grass, hair, and fur could reveal inconsistencies.

Why It Matters

Texture glitches may pass early reviews and then jump out on big screens or print. It creates costly late-stage fixes and can damage a flagship launch if noticeable AI signs slip through.

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Why Brands Need To Spot These Signs

AI boosts the speed and creative range of content pipelines. However, AI also adds risk. Low-grade AI images make ad campaigns feel cheap and inauthentic, and they can lead to legal or reputational problems when images mislead the viewer.

As Tamara Hofer, Copywriter and Marketing Assistant at The Branx, highlights just how much trust is on the line: “Signs [of AI images] can evoke distrust or discomfort as they break the user's expectation of authenticity, especially when it’s people or nature that are depicted in an image."

The public response to viral fakes shows how quickly trust erodes. The “Pope in a puffer jacket” image fooled millions before the creator admitted it was AI-generated. Even major outlets analyzed how and why so many missed it on first pass. That type of incident turns into a brand problem when your company name is associated with it.

You can prevent such potential backlash with a transparent AI disclosure policy. By doing so, you set the tone by telling audiences when you used AI to create or modify an image.

How Brands Can Use AI Responsibly

Adopting AI in creative doesn't mean replacing photographers or graphic designers. It means adding a controlled stage to your workflow and creating a guardrail policy. A few best practices can keep your brand authentic and credible.

Don’t Replace Real Photography With AI

Use AI where it adds clear value, such as to fill gaps in mood boards, concept art, or background designs, but don't try to fake something you can easily shoot.

“A useful rule to use when it comes to AI imagery in marketing: Never use AI to fake what you could photograph but won't,” says Adam Bird, director of strategy at Deksia. That principle keeps ethics and craft aligned across marketing campaigns and reduces blowback if audiences scrutinize your assets.

So what's the balance? Treat AI as a support act. Let photographers and art directors still own the look and narrative. AI image generators should serve the creative idea, not act as a shortcut around it.

Work With a Graphic Designer

Specialists can catch the signs fast and know how to fix them. A seasoned graphic designer can review errors in face, hands, and text before you commit major media spend. They can also produce stronger outputs by prompting with structure, running iterative passes, and finishing with surgical retouching.

As Hofer notes, “Like other design tasks, it takes a lot of practice and expertise to create AI images that actually look authentic. Just as a photographer would perfect lighting, our designers spend hours optimizing prompts to get the perfect, branded result.” That discipline turns AI from a novelty into a reliable production tool.

Always Disclose AI Photos

AI disclosure avoids confusion and shows respect for viewers. It could be as simple as adding short labels in captions or credits for AI-generated content.

Also, consider disclosing how AI was used. As Hofer notes, “Clarity improves when you show how deeply involved AI was in the creation. A tag saying 'edited' or 'generated' instills more trust than a blanket 'made by AI’”.

Hofer also suggests avoiding treating AI disclosures as a warning label. “Instead, frame it as part of the creative process, e.g., ‘We used AI to help visualize this future scenario,’” she explains. “This feels collaborative, not deceptive, and preserves transparency while reinforcing brand creativity.”

Keep Your AI Images Credible Without Guesswork

The signs still exist even as AI models improve fast. So build AI checks into your workflow and publish with confidence. Here's a simple two-step rule. First, train your team on how to identify fake images online or for brand assets, using the seven tips mentioned above. Second, publish with transparency where it matters most. That combination protects the brand and still gives you the creative speed that AI promises.

If you want the shortest path to reliable output, bring in a seasoned graphic designer. You can find a vetted list of top graphic designers on Clutch.

About the Author

Jeanette Godreau Senior Content Marketing Specialist at Clutch

Jeanette Godreau crafts in-depth content on web design, graphic design, and branding to help B2B buyers make confident decisions on Clutch.  

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