How to Inspect an Image Without Treating AI Detection as Certainty

How to Inspect an Image Without Treating AI Detection as Certainty

“Was this image made by AI?” sounds like a yes-or-no question. The available evidence is rarely that simple. Metadata may be missing, a screenshot may remove provenance, and ordinary editing may resemble generation artifacts.

Start with what can be measured locally. Review the file format, dimensions and visible quality. Then read provenance or generation signals as bounded evidence. Useful states include verified provenance, likely AI-generated, likely edited, no detected AI signals and unable to determine. “No detected signals” is not the same as “authentic”.

Use this workflow:

1. Confirm that you may process the image and selected the intended workspace asset.
2. Open Inspect image and review Analysis before interpreting authenticity.
3. Check which evidence was actually available. Optional external evidence may be disabled.
4. Compare important text, product details and context with the source.
5. Escalate consequential decisions to a qualified reviewer.

Cropping, screenshots and re-encoding can remove metadata or watermarks. A confident-looking result is not forensic proof, identity verification or a legal conclusion.

The Image Inspector guide explains the full workflow. For status vocabulary and processing boundaries, use the Yasnora Wiki and the authenticity Help article.