r/isthisAI • • Jun 29 '26

Other PSA: SynthID What is it? How do I check? And what are its limitations? and how not to annoy everyone by doing the basics.

128 Upvotes

I thought it was about time to make a new PSA about SynthID. English is not my first language so there's probably some mistakes.

 

As you may be aware, this subreddit does not allow AI detectors. This is because they are extremely unreliable. Try going to deviantart or any other art site and test them with a few images, it should be easy to find something they say is AI despite it being uploaded over five years ago.

This is my go to example https://www.deviantart.com/hibbary/art/Third-Eye-748333152 see how it was uploaded in 2018, there is no way this could be generated but nearly all the detectors I have tried say that it is.

Then why is SynthID allowed, you might say?

SynthID is different. It's a thing developed by Google, when you use their generators they add a hidden pattern to the image which is difficult to remove without lowering the quality of the image or changing it significantly. This is what it is looking for, not if it looks like it's generated like the other detectors. Therefore you can be sure if it says that SynthID is detected, an AI has done something to the image in some way. It could be something as simple as upscaling, changing something or it could be completely generated. The point is if it has SynthID you cannot trust the image.

Recently OpenAI(ChatGPT) have implemented the same technology in their generator. There is an important thing though Google and OpenAI can only detect their own images. Not each other's so you have to run the image through both of them.

So how do I use them?

For OpenAI it's very simple https://openai.com/research/verify/ they have a page for it.

Google of course has to be more complicated. It used to be able to do a "search by image" and then go to about the image but that no longer works. Now you have to use Gemini to get an answer. Add the image you suspect and type "@Verify AI". Annoying but I don't know any better way.

Edit: When using Gemini it is very important that you type "@Verify AI" and not "SynthID" or any other variation of it. Otherwise there is a high chance that it will hallucinate and give you the wrong answer. It is also important to use a clean new session for each image.

Another edit: To confirm that Gemini actually use the verification tool you can press the three little dots underneath its response and then select "see response details".

Now I can't stress this enough, these two methods will only detect OpenAI's and Google's images. Not any other generator. So when an image comes up negative for SynthID that doesn't mean it's not AI. It can only prove that an image is fake not disprove it.

So before you post an image here please check for yourself you will save yourself some time and not waste others.

edit 29-09-2026: It has come to my attention that Meta(Facebook) and Grog(Twitter, I refuse to call it X, it's a dumb name) have also implemented some kind of SynthID. I do not know much about it since I don't and refuse to interact with those two sites. But I will assume that they works just like the others, in that way that you have to check with all of them. This is quickly becoming quite a nuisance to check for SynthID.

edit 16-10-2026 Google has released a global SynthID detector synthid.com I've only briefly tested it and it seems to work. You still need to sign into an account, which is a bit disappointing.


r/isthisAI • • Jul 26 '26

MOD POST New updated Discord for IsthisAI! faster way to find out if a image is AI or not with less restrictions.

10 Upvotes

https://discord.gg/ssuwD2z2JJ Join here and get member role by reaction in the verify channel


r/isthisAI • • 5h ago

Solved [AI] Obviously car enthusiasts would never subject their cars to such a risky contest

1.4k Upvotes

The male dominated voices and holding a contest without safety barriers just seems like the whole thing is a boomer male goon fantasy. Plus a where would you attach the strap on the Lamborghini?


r/isthisAI • • 1h ago

Photo Picture from a restaurant. Unknown fruits with weird shapes and weird objects at the bottom

Post image
• Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 3h ago

Art I commissioned this art from someone I found on Tiktok, it looks far too clinical and the sketches don’t look real.

Thumbnail
gallery
26 Upvotes

EDIT: I’d like to add that after they finished my drawing they blocked me on discord and deleted their TikTok account, and had their “manager” reach out to me and tell me that it was unreasonable to ask for a timelapse despite them telling me they had one but it was too big to upload.


r/isthisAI • • 2h ago

Photo Is this ai. My mom bought this shirt and I’m pretty sure it is. Is it?????? The witch looks fake

Post image
18 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 12h ago

Art Commissioned art accused of being AI-generated after years, can someone confirm

Thumbnail
gallery
99 Upvotes

Around 2 years ago I commissioned some art for my game, I asked the artist for a couple of different styles for different parts of the game and provided some references of what I wanted, like Subway Surfers. I got the art and loved it, and even asked for some small details to be changed here and there which the artist always delivered.

Unfortunately, I had a wedding, followed by my dad's death, and then a baby, which made continuing development very difficult in the last 2 years. Now that I'm back and putting my game out there, I've been called out for using AI a few times. I checked the metadata, and it doesn't seem to say anything about AI, but that is easy to hide.

This sucks because, before commissioning this art, I got scammed by another artist who took the payment but never came back with the final result after months of excuses. This was someone I worked with for years and trusted, so I guess I'm an easy target.

I have no hopes of getting my money back after so long (Fiverr), and I'm not sure I can afford to keep hiring artists for a project no one will care about. But I would still like to know for sure.

Edit:

Okay, I talked with the artist. She denies using A.I. and says this is her style, and unfortunately, A.I. does use a similar style, which is a big issue for her and her work.

First, I have a big issue: if I ask for my money back, I instantly lose access to everything she has done. All the visuals for the entire game were created by her, absolutely everything, even the fonts were the ones she sent, which means I would have to start again.

So, this is the deal: she said she will redo everything, provide plenty of proof, make sure it doesn't look A.I. generated, and be sure to make everything compatible with what I already have so I can just replace it without having to redo the entire look and feel of the game, honestly this all sucks a lot no matter what, I don't think I win in any situation, but if this does not work out I will be exactly where I started, I will come back with whatever comes out of this, at least she is being responsive and apologetic, I assumed she would just not respond after so long.


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Photo This can’t be real, right? Is this guy really under anesthesia for a full-body blackout tattoo?

Post image
2.4k Upvotes

Found this on Facebook. Anesthesia for a almost full-body blackout tattoo? Wouldn’t it be unsafe to tattoo such a large area of the body in one session, even under anesthesia? Are there tattoo studios or clinics that offer this kind of procedure?

I’m wondering if this is AI-generated. The setup looks like a medical procedure rather than a typical tattoo session. Can anyone identify specific details in the image that might indicate AI generation?


r/isthisAI • • 24m ago

Photo I was looking to adopt a bunny but the pictures on the posting look awfully perfect. The fur is what makes me suspect it. The leaves in the background for the grass photo too

Thumbnail
gallery
• Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 6h ago

Art Is this Ravensburger puzzle art seen at a toy store AI? It has an illustrator credited but the acorns look suspicious

Post image
37 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 10h ago

Art A friend wants to know if this image is fully AI or art enhanced with it. Was checking this with some friends but we weren't sure.

Post image
50 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 16h ago

Art I’m like 80% sure it’s ai. Friend got me a few of these, but this one seems off.

Post image
87 Upvotes

I spotted some natural inconsistencies (eyes are slightly apart and vary veeery slightly in height) but seeing as this is cropped to fit on the pin, I couldn’t really verify a specific artist either. My main issue specifically the random triangle-shaped carabiner on the lower left portion


r/isthisAI • • 7h ago

Art Parents want to buy a painting for their wall from (mynewart.dk), but I think it looks like AI (photo is a random example from their site)

Post image
15 Upvotes

My parents want to buy a painting for their wall, and they found this site called mynewart.dk

I checked out the site, but the "paintings" honestly look really suspicious. The style just seems so AI-like. Am I insane, or is it AI?


r/isthisAI • • 9h ago

Other Was checking the halo 3: ODST live action trailer and saw the thumbnail and wondered if for some reason it had been changed to ai?

Post image
19 Upvotes

It's 17 years old at this point, but there's no way it looked like this when it was posted in 2009, so am I crazy or was this changed to be AI for some reason like at least 13 years after it was posted?


r/isthisAI • • 2h ago

Photo Parents are getting dog that looks suspiciously perfect. No phone call yet, Cage looks strange.

Post image
5 Upvotes

The cage seems to go in and out of the fur, the kennel seems to not work like that? Also the paws seem to be too bug for and Australian shepherd. Not convinced its ai and maybe filter? But the background looks strange also because why is there random unconnected cages there.

Update: Parents Got Video and are paying at pick up! So likely just portrait mode!


r/isthisAI • • 2h ago

Music Did I just get my first ai Spotify recommendation? {Adding more words to meet the word count}

Post image
3 Upvotes

Ok so i usually listen to edm or deep house and have never gotten a recommendation from anyone I thought could be ai or who didn't have music past the 2010s. But then this guy shows up on Spotify recommended and the song is literally the most horriblely basic bass song you could think of.i l looked into the artist and his profile photo didn't look real so I scanned one of his album covers and it said that it was AI generated. So is this entire artist ai generated?


r/isthisAI • • 10h ago

Photo wanted to commission someone, changed my mind, and then they sent me a fully “sketched” piece of my commission

Thumbnail
gallery
9 Upvotes

i initially called them out on their commission references for being not their art, but they admitted they traced or took heavy reference and i am an artist myself so i understood still learning to draw and cancelled the commission.

after that conversation, in the same day, they sent me this with a long paragraph doubling down on their art. i want to give them the benefit of doubt but the eyes are making me think this is likely AI. is there a foolproof way to check? what do you guys think?

if most people think it is too then i am really baffled and disappointed.

edit:
the references they provided were basically point blank copies from big artists, coloured in, drawn over others’ art, or looked like blatant panels from mangas, yet when i reverse image searched i could rarely find the source immediately, so i accepted that they just traced or took heavy inspo, its really weird. does anyone know why?


r/isthisAI • • 11h ago

Art I got a "Fashion" colouring book from Walmart a while ago, and I was wondering if it was A.I

Thumbnail
gallery
9 Upvotes

I started colouring it in, and looking closer, i realize theres parts that dont seem to make sense, like the belt bow on the waist, and her hair/earring things?? i could be thinking too much but just curious


r/isthisAI • • 7m ago

Photo I’m genuinely struggling to tell if this is ai or generated in blender, pls help

Post image
• Upvotes

I saved this from the ready or not subreddit and can’t tell if it was ai generated, the map seems to be true to the original but the perspective seems off and for some reason some of the fingers on the glove have fingernails and a police badge has been placed over the NVG mount


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Photo OP claims this was a cat cupboard conversion, but converted cupboard looks deeper than the first image, the shadows don't match the lights, and the steps are too far back

Thumbnail
gallery
179 Upvotes

There are apparently shadows for 3 steps but there's 4 of them, and they seem too far back to leave enough space for the shelves behind them. The scale and perspective everything doesn't quite match what you'd expect for that amount of space.

UPDATE:

Seems like it's mostly just lens distortion and a weird perspective.

OOP posted another photo (I added it as a comment on the post). I'm concluding it's real. Thanks to everyone who chimed in. Sorry to OOP for casting doubts on their project if they ever come across this.


r/isthisAI • • 4h ago

Music Is this song AI? It has been blowing up on Instagram reels and the lyrics sound pretty AI-generated

2 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 1h ago

Video The fb page called “ Low ryder kitty” about a paralyzed cat seems created with AI ( some details seems changing during videos)

• Upvotes

All videos about this paralyzed kitten and his owner seems quite fake to me. Can u help me to understand this? Thank you!


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Solved [AI] Is this Dolly art AI? The yellow color is suspicious, even though the details all look fine.

Post image
100 Upvotes

Screenshot from Instagram. Nothing stuck out as AI to me except the yellow coloring. At first I thought it was just "vintage" looking, but now I'm concerned it's just the AI piss-yellow filter.


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Video I just saw this on daily dose of pets. Surely a dog wouldn't be able to paint that?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

3.1k Upvotes

I have seen paintings by elephants and monkeys, and they usually look like preschooler's drawing. This looks way too perfect to be painted by an animal, and the Malinois looks way to patient


r/isthisAI • • 10h ago

Photo Is this the bear thing here ai generated ( also sorry if it's too dark I took it in the basement of a church ) It looks weird and a bit unreal also the bears expression and feet don't look normal

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes