How to Find if an Image is AI Edited in 2025: [Complete Guide]

Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly one of the best technological advancements of the 21^st century. Automation of tasks to reduce cost and improve efficiency, along with a detailed sense of the problem-solving approach, creation of realistic HD images and videos, are some of the prominent fields in which AI continues to excel with each ing day.

However, the rapid evolution and implementation of AI have also brought up a fair number of problems. A major issue with AI is the confusion among people in deciding whether an image they are viewing has been generated or morphed using AI.

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77% of People Cannot differentiate between AI Images and Real Pictures

According to the report of a 2025 survey done by All About Cookies, in the US, around 77 percent of people could not distinguish between an AI-generated image and a genuine image. Now, imagine how worse the situation with fake AI images could get when we visualize a broader global picture where a majority of individuals around the world cannot differentiate between an AI-edited photo and a real image.

The fake AI photos can lead to forgery, cybercrime, bullying, and all sorts of shady criminal activities that can take place to make the life hell of a person. Understanding how grave the issue of fake images is, in the aforementioned survey by All About Cookies, around 93 percent of individuals demanded mandatory clear labelling of images if they were generated or retouched using AI.

Since AI-generated images became a thing, I have become quite reluctant about posting personal or family photos in the public domain on my social media handles. Who knows, any AI junkie might morph them to use them for nefarious purposes. One has to be careful with AI images.

So, I have been looking for workarounds or tricks that could tell apart an AI-generated image from an actual one. Hence, I came up with this guide to help our readers stay informed about fake AI images and how to know whether a picture has been edited using AI tools.

How do you find out if your photos have been edited by AI using Google Photos?

If you have saved an image on Google Photos, it is possible to know if it has been modified with AI. Also, when an image is edited using the features on the Photos app, such as Magic Eraser or Magic Editor, the info section of the image can be viewed to ascertain whether the image was modified using AI tools.

When an image is created or edited with generative AI tools, Synth ID is attached to the image. The data associated with SynthID for an image can be viewed using Google Lens.

Following the IPTC Metadata standards, the photos that were modified using image editing apps will have metadata on them regarding the use of AI tools. However, there are a couple of interesting caveats regarding AI info and IPTC metadata.

According to Google, not all images on the Photos app may have AI info on them, more so when the image is genuine and was not modified using AI tools.

On Google Photos for Android OS, here is how to check if an image is edited with AI.

Launch the Google Photos app.
Open the image you want to check by tapping on it.
In the image in this screenshot, I have used Magic Eraser to remove a patch of grass from the photo.
Now, open the photo edited using Google Photos AI tools.
Tap the menu button or scroll to AI info to check whether the image in the context was edited using AI.

On Google Photos Web,

Open your PC browser and visit photos.google.com
Select the photo in the repository.
Choose the “i” button to learn about the data associated with the photo.

On the Google App for iOS,

Launch the Google app and tap on Image Search.
Choose a photo from the gallery.
Scroll up and go to About This Image to learn about the data associated with the image.

How to Find AI Info on an Image Using Google Lens?

Using Google Lens, you can also determine if an image has been edited or created entirely from scratch using generative AI.

Launch the Google Photos Android app.
Select a photo you want to check for the use of AI.
Tap on Lens.
Swipe up and tap About This Image.

Different ways to know if an Image is created/edited using AI

Apart from using Google Photos and Google Lens, there are several different ways by which you can cross-examine an image to know if it has been generated/edited using AI or happens to be a genuine image clicked using a photography device.

Watermark of AI Tool

We already saw how the images saved on Google Photos can be checked for AI modifications. Similarly, if you use other generative AI tools, like Grok, DALL-e, Stable Diffusion, etc, to create a photo, the output image will have a watermark of the AI tool’s branding on the image.

Not all AI tools place a watermark on the images created using their services. One example of that is ChatGPT. Images created on ChatGPT don’t have a watermark on them, allowing them to be used without any digital limitations.

When there is no watermark displayed on the image, you can use AI detection tools to find out if an image is authentic or generated by AI.

Inconsistent Physical Traits

With AI tools, images look realistic and are produced in the highest possible resolution and definition. However, if there are human elements in the images, their physical traits may be inconsistent.

If there are multiple human beings in the photo, everyone will have a monotone artificial sort of facial expression, which seldom matches the context of the event that describes the image.

The number of fingers on the hand may be inconsistent and false. In the above image, notice the fingers of the people’s hands. It sort of looks unnatural.

AI Detection Tool

There are dedicated AI-detection tools available on the internet that can tell you whether a specific image is AI-generated or has been modified up to a certain extent using AI tools.

According to a study by the University of Rochester, SightEngine has been suggested as an efficient tool to check if an image has been created or modified using AI.

So, I tried using SightEngine to check if it can differentiate between a real image shot using a smartphone camera and another realistic image derived from an AI tool.

Here are the SightEngine detection results of the genuine image.

Next, here are the SightEngine detection results for the AI image we generated using Grok and used in previous screenshots in this article.

Jumbled Text

An AI-edited image will have distorted text, if at all, the image has any text on it, or as a part of any of the image elements. Sometimes, part of the text in the image will be jumbled or consist of some weird gibberish.

However, if you capture a photo using any camera, the text in the image will appear in its correct, meaningful form in the RAW as well as the edited output.

Observe the Image Texture

A telltale sign of an AI image is the over-smoothness in its texture, which is something you don’t find even on an image edited using classic photo-editing software.

In the above AI image created using Grok, the colors are too bright in one place and too dark in the other. Again, notice the overly processed image texture.

Secondly, if one is keen on image processing and editing, they will instantly notice that the AI-edited image has inconsistencies in the blending of colors of different elements.

Lack of EXIF Data

When you click a photo using a DSLR or smartphone, the photo usually has metadata describing what device was used to shoot it, the image type, size, resolution, date of capture, etc.

However, an image made using an AI tool doesn’t have substantial EXIF data associated with it.

Here is a photo captured using a smartphone camera and the detailed EXIF data available in the info section of the image.

Now, when we check the info of an AI-generated image, this is what is displayed.

Don’t get confused by AI-edited Images

AI is here to stay, and during your use of cyberspace, you will come across images crafted with AI tools. However, it is important to be informed about the various ways in which you can authenticate whether an image is genuine or has been generated or edited using AI tools. The different methods explained in this guide should help you tell apart AI images from real ones.

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