Every business owner has to ask this question right now: Will AI images hurt my brand?

The short answer? Yes.

Recent surveys (like this report from Clutch.co) have shown that 25% of the survey takers feel negative feelings toward brands that use AI-generated images of products. I think every brand-owner out there feels the sting of having a section of the populace feel some type of way about them, so it should be a no-brainer that using AI imagery for your brand is likely a poor choice.

What about AI images makes people feel negative?

Me personally, I feel like I have a pretty good eye for whether an image is AI or not. It's not always how it looks for me, but more the feeling that I get. My intuition throws off subtle feeling of warning, like something is off.

Humans evolved some pretty extensive adaptations in facial recognition. Early humans - and by extension, us - were able to quickly tell if someone was a friend or an enemy, read subtle emotional cues, and find predators hidden in the nearest bush. (Here's a study if you want to check it out)

So it's an easy assumption to make that humans might be pretty good at detecting what is - and what isn't - a real human face. And something about AI faces might be tripping those alarm bells.

So I can't use AI images at all?

This is quite the debate and one we'll be sure to be hearing more about for years to come. I think it really depends on how you use them and what your audience thinks of them.

For example, the wife is VERY anti-AI at the moment. She goes out of her way to avoid companies that rely on even the slightest AI (don't tell her that I benefit from AI in my photo editing - yikes!). Granted, she can see how powerful and convenient the tech is - but it still just gives her the ick right now.

If the people you want to show up for are like her, well there goes a big chunk of your potential clients if you use AI imagery.

If you are going to use AI images, make sure you disclose that they are AI and trend away from calling them "art". There is a growing population of people who are very concerned on those fronts too.

I'm of the opinion that AI-generated content should be used as an absolute last resort when hiring a photographer, using stock images, or a non-photo solution just isn't feasible.

And I feel very strongly about this one - never use AI-generated imagery of people or real products to represent your brand.

How do you feel about AI imagery and do you use it in your business currently?