Use AI for · Image creation · 26 Sep 2026
Use AI for
AI image generator

AI image generators:Faster visuals,rights sorted first

An AI image generator delivers visuals for posts, websites and presentations in seconds. This guide shows how to write image prompts that work, which tools exist, who owns the results and when EU law requires you to label AI images.

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Nikolai Schöbel und Jeremias Burger, Co-Founder Scalableloops

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Use AI for · Image creation

Using an AI image generator for business means describing a visual in words, letting a tool such as Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, ChatGPT or Gemini render it, and then selecting, editing and checking the result. For illustrations, backgrounds and social media posts, that saves photo shoots and stock searches. Before an image goes public, settle three things: the tool's terms of use, the rights of third parties and whether the image has to be labelled.

In brief
  • AI images suit illustrations, backgrounds, concept visuals and posts, not as a stand-in for photos of your real products or staff.
  • Purely AI-generated images are not protected by copyright in Germany, but the provider's terms of use still apply.
  • If a real person is recognisable in an image, you generally need their consent.
  • Since 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the EU AI Act requires deepfakes to be disclosed, and embedded provenance data should not be stripped.
Published 26 Sep 2026Nikolai Schöbel and Jeremias Burger10 min read
Nikolai SchöbelJeremias Burger

Nikolai Schöbel and Jeremias Burger

Co-founders of Scalableloops GmbH. Nikolai Schöbel leads online marketing and AI strategy, Jeremias Burger the AI architecture. Both build AI systems and train teams on them in their own agency work.

On this page
  1. What are AI images good for in a business?
  2. Which AI image generators suit a business?
  3. How do you describe a visual so the image fits?
  4. How do you get to a finished image, step by step?
  5. Who owns AI images, and can you use them commercially?
  6. What applies when real people are recognisable?
  7. Do you have to label AI images under the EU AI Act?
  8. What does your team need to use AI images safely?
  9. Frequently asked questions
  10. How to introduce AI images in your business
  11. Where the information on this page comes from
Use cases

What are AI images good for in a business?

AI image generators are strongest where no photo exists or a shoot would not pay off: illustrations for an expert article, atmospheric backgrounds for ads and slides, visuals for social media posts, and mock-ups for a campaign or poster before you book a photographer. Many tools also edit existing images, for example to swap a background or extend the frame.

They are a poor fit wherever customers expect something real. A product image has to show the product the customer will receive, a team photo the people who actually work for you, a case study the project you actually delivered. In those places a generated image undermines the trust it is meant to build.

A simple rule of thumb: AI for visuals that illustrate, real photos for visuals that prove. If you need moving images, our guide on using AI for video creation covers that workflow.

Tools

Which AI image generators suit a business?

The well-known image generators differ less in image quality than in their conditions: what they were trained on, who owns the output, whether your images are publicly visible and what provenance data they attach. Rankings date quickly because the models are replaced all the time. Here is the position on 26 September 2026, according to the providers:

ToolWhat the provider saysWatch out for
Adobe FireflyAdobe's own Firefly models are trained on licensed Adobe Stock content and public domain material and described by Adobe as commercially safe. Outputs carry Content Credentials.Firefly also offers models from other providers. Check which model you are using, because the training statements refer to Adobe's own models.
MidjourneyPaying subscribers own the images they create, to the extent the law allows.Companies with more than 1 million US dollars in annual revenue need the Pro or Mega plan. Images are public by default and can only be hidden on those plans.
ChatGPTImages from ChatGPT carry provenance metadata based on the C2PA standard plus an invisible SynthID watermark.Use a business account for company data and uploaded photos.
GeminiImages from Google's models carry an invisible SynthID watermark.Again, use a business account for work and check the settings.
Prompting

How do you describe a visual so the image fits?

An image generator renders what you describe and fills the rest with the average. A short prompt such as “plumber in a workshop” therefore produces a generic stock look. The more precisely you describe what should be in the frame and how it should feel, the fewer rounds you need.

Here is an example of a complete prompt: “Photorealistic image of a tidy carpentry workshop in the early morning, soft light through a window on the left, a workbench with a hand plane and pale timber in the foreground, no people, no text, no logos, landscape 16:9, calm beige and grey tones, free space for copy in the right third.”

That prompt contains five building blocks that work for almost any visual:

  1. 01

    01

    Subject

    What is at the centre? Object, scene, action. Describe concrete things rather than feelings.

  2. 02

    02

    Setting

    Where does the image take place? Room, landscape, time of day, weather. The setting carries the mood.

  3. 03

    03

    Style and light

    Photo, illustration or graphic, plus lighting and colour palette. Name your brand colours instead of leaving them to chance.

  4. 04

    04

    Format

    Aspect ratio and framing to match where the image will be used, such as square for a post or wide for a website header. Leave room for text.

  5. 05

    05

    Exclusions

    What must not appear: text, logos, recognisable people, well-known brands. That saves rework and legal questions.

Workflow

How do you get to a finished image, step by step?

Generate several drafts. Start with a few variations and choose a direction before refining details. Often one variation has the right composition and another the right mood.

Refine one thing at a time. Then change a single point per round: “Same scene, but warmer light and the workbench closer.” Change everything at once and you lose what already worked.

Finish in an image editor. Cropping, matching your brand colours and adding text are better done in an image editor or your design tool than by asking the AI to render lettering. That keeps the type clean and in your house font.

Look closely. Check the image at full size: hands, faces, lettering, tools, technical details and reflections. What looks convincing to a layperson is obvious to an expert, and your customers are often experts.

Keep the provenance data. Save and edit in a way that preserves the embedded provenance data. A screenshot or some export tools remove it. Our guide on using AI for marketing shows how to put the images to work in campaigns.

Copyright

Who owns AI images, and can you use them commercially?

Under Section 2(2) of the German Copyright Act, only a personal intellectual creation, that is the work of a human being, is protected. An image generated purely by AI is therefore not protected, and writing a simple prompt does not make you its author. That has a downside: a competitor who copies your AI image generally does not infringe any copyright of yours. If you edit an image so that your own creative contribution is in it, protection can arise.

Whether you may use an image commercially is governed first by the tool's terms of use. On Midjourney, for example, paying subscribers own their images, but companies with more than 1 million US dollars in annual revenue must be on the Pro or Mega plan. Read your tool's terms before images go into advertising or onto products.

The bigger risk is third-party rights. An AI image can come so close to a protected work, a logo, a trademark or a well-known character that it infringes someone else's rights, and not understanding how the AI works is no defence. Leave the names of artists, brands and characters out of your prompts, and check every image for such echoes before publishing it.

People

What applies when real people are recognisable?

Under Section 22 of the German Art Copyright Act (KUG), images of a person may only be distributed or shown publicly with that person's consent. This applies to AI images too: if a real person is recognisable, it makes no difference that no photo of them was ever taken. The exceptions in Section 23 KUG regularly do not help for advertising.

In practice, do not generate or recreate images of customers, employees or celebrities without the person's consent. Do not upload photos of people to an image generator without a legal basis either, because that means processing personal data under the GDPR. For visuals with people, use invented figures that are not meant to resemble anyone, or real photos taken with consent.

Labelling

Do you have to label AI images under the EU AI Act?

Article 50 of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 August 2026 and splits the obligations between two roles. Providers of image generators must ensure that their outputs are marked in a machine-readable format and detectable as artificially generated. That is what provenance metadata and watermarks such as Content Credentials or SynthID are for. For systems already on the market before 2 August 2026, a transition period for this marking runs until 2 December 2026.

As a company using an image generator, you are a deployer. You have a disclosure duty for deepfakes: images that resemble real people, objects, places or events and would falsely appear authentic must be disclosed as artificially generated or manipulated. For evidently artistic, satirical or fictional work, disclosure in a way that does not spoil the work is enough. An illustrative graphic that nobody would take for a real photo is usually outside this duty, while a photorealistic image of a supposedly real situation is not. Details are in our article on AI disclosure under Article 50.

Two practical points follow. First, do not strip embedded provenance data. Google, for example, requires AI-generated product images in Merchant Center to keep the IPTC DigitalSourceType value TrainedAlgorithmicMedia. Second, when in doubt, label visibly. A short note such as “Image created with AI” costs little and protects your credibility.

Team

What does your team need to use AI images safely?

Article 4 of the AI Act has applied since 2 February 2025 to every business that uses AI systems, even if an image generator is only used now and then. Since 27 July 2026 it applies in amended form: you have to take measures that support the development of AI literacy, but you do not have to guarantee a specific level of competence for any individual. No certificate is required. Details are in our article on the AI literacy obligation under Article 4.

A short written policy for images, known to everyone who creates or publishes visuals, works well in practice:

  1. 01

    01

    Choose the tool

    Which image generator is used, on which plan and account, so that the terms of use cover commercial use.

  2. 02

    02

    Name the no-gos

    No recognisable real people without consent, and no third-party brands, logos, characters or artist names in prompts.

  3. 03

    03

    Review before publishing

    A second person looks at every image at full size before it goes out and checks details, echoes of other works and labelling.

  4. 04

    04

    Record the origin

    Note the tool, date and prompt for every published image so you can answer questions later.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Can I use AI images in advertising?

In principle yes, if your tool's terms of use allow commercial use and the image does not infringe third-party rights in trademarks, logos, protected works or recognisable people. On Midjourney, companies with more than 1 million US dollars in annual revenue need the Pro or Mega plan.

Are AI-generated images protected by copyright?

In Germany, an image generated purely by AI is not protected, because the Copyright Act requires a personal intellectual creation by a human. A simple prompt is not enough. If you edit the image with your own creative contribution, protection can arise.

Do I have to label AI images on my website in the EU?

Article 50 of the AI Act creates a duty for deepfakes, meaning images that resemble real people, places or events and would falsely appear authentic. It usually does not apply to evident illustrations. A visible note never hurts, and embedded provenance data should not be removed.

Which AI image generator is suitable for a business?

That depends on your requirements for usage rights and data protection. Adobe states that its own Firefly models were trained on licensed Adobe Stock content and public domain material. For other tools, check the plan, the visibility of your images and the terms on commercial use.

May I edit a photo of my staff with AI?

Only with the consent of the people shown. Under Section 22 KUG, images of a person may only be distributed with consent, and uploading a photo to an image generator counts as processing personal data under the GDPR.

Can you tell whether an image was made with AI?

Often through embedded provenance data such as Content Credentials or invisible watermarks such as SynthID, which major providers attach. Provenance data is lost, however, when an image is captured as a screenshot or saved again. Its absence therefore does not prove that an image is real.

What now

How to introduce AI images in your business

  1. 01

    Pick the use cases

    Decide where AI images may be used, such as illustrations and backgrounds, and where real photos remain mandatory, such as products and your team.

  2. 02

    Settle tool and plan

    Choose an image generator whose terms cover commercial use on your plan, and work with a business account.

  3. 03

    Write down the rules

    Record no-gos, review steps and labelling in writing, and note the tool and date for every published image.

  4. 04

    Train your team

    Practise image prompts and pre-publication checks on real tasks. We can help with AI training for your team.

AI images save time and money where they are meant to illustrate. Settle the tool, the rights and the labelling in advance, look closely at every visual before it goes out, and you get that benefit without putting trust or legal certainty at risk.

or call: +49 151 1576 5566

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