Using AI images for client work: a simple disclosure checklist

2026-10-16 · 4 min read

Clients are usually fine with AI images when they know about them. Problems start when they find out later. This is a practical checklist, not legal advice. Rules differ by country, platform and contract, so check yours.

Before you start

Ask what the client wants. Some are happy with AI, some want photos or hand-made art, some allow AI only for certain uses.
Read your contract. Look for clauses about who owns the work, about third-party tools and about originality.
Read the terms of the AI tool. They say what you may do with the output, for example in ads or for resale.

While you work

Keep a note of which images are AI-generated, with the tool and the date.
Do not use AI images of real people without their consent.
Do not present an AI image as a real photograph or a real event.
Watch out for logos, brand names and text that the AI invented.

When you deliver

Say it in writing. A line in the delivery email is enough: “These images were created with AI (tool name).”
Tell them what you changed. For example that you removed the corner logo and the hidden file data to give a clean file.
Tell them what is still in the picture. Images from some tools carry an invisible watermark that detectors can find. If the client runs automated checks, they should know. See what SynthID is.
Keep the reply. If the client says it is fine, keep that message.

If the client’s system rejects AI images

Some company systems automatically flag AI-generated files. If your client has accepted AI images but their tool flags them, the right step is to ask the client to approve those files or to exempt them in their system, and to keep their written approval. The wrong step is to hide the AI origin from the check.

Sample email text

Hi [name], the images in this delivery were created with AI ([tool], [date]). We removed the small corner logo and the hidden file data so you get clean files. They still contain the tool’s invisible watermark. Please confirm that you are happy to use them on this basis.

What Image Cleaner does here

Image Cleaner removes the visible corner logo and hidden file data, nothing else. The terms ask every user to tell clients and audiences when images are AI-generated.