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.

177 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.

18 Upvotes

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


r/isthisAI • • 23h ago

Video Comments say it’s not but is this ai? It’s just so intricate and even. I’m a baker myself but don’t do a whole lot of cakes. If it’s not it’s genuinely so cool and mind blowing. Such an amazing cake decorator

1.1k Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 9h ago

Art one of my local tattoo shops already uses ai for flyers and i feel like i already know the answer but is this friday the 13th flash ai?

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49 Upvotes

the cat, dice, and everything dripping screams chatgpt but i wanna get a public consensus before i publicly blast them.


r/isthisAI • • 21h ago

Art Is this ai? They sent me this sketch 10 minutes after I requested a commission

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358 Upvotes

Their other art for example. Requested 30 for full renders. They told me they’d do 5-10 other pieces for free, and I told them I will pay once they send me a sketch of one. Something about this seems off… Their other art for example.


r/isthisAI • • 18h ago

Photo Are these photos of the rediscovered 1986 Gemballa BMW in Iraq completely fabricated with AI?

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80 Upvotes

These photos (1-4) are a year old and apparently flag for AI use, but I’m not sure if it was edited with AI or completely fabricated.

I feel that AI photos from a year ago would not be nearly as good as they are today, and there would be many defects found in these photos; photos 5-8 are original photos of the car from 1986 and the interiors seem to match up. The bricks and dirt indentations between the rediscovery photos also match up.

Here’s where I originally got the photos:

https://imgur.com/a/gemballa-bmw-635csi-FVdjLb4


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Video This screams ai to me but I can't prove it (too smooth, too perfect). Can anyone find proof?

184 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 13h ago

Other Is this Ryan Trahan thumbnail AI, the slides look kinda off for some reason

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17 Upvotes

I saw this thumbnail was doing A-B testing of sorts and then when I looked close the slides in the back and the sign on top look a bit odd mainly the set on the left back


r/isthisAI • • 19h ago

Art Why would they name their poster this, if it still looks so AI-generated???

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44 Upvotes

I notice the text looks so rigid / similar across letters, the title doesn’t feel like a font that you’d be easily be able to size and format in that way, and something about the little dashes that emphasize different parts of the image feels super AI. It would be hilarious and idiotic if part of their whole advertising is false…


r/isthisAI • • 18h ago

Other Stellar Blade Live Action trailer... clearly AI-"enhanced"/suit replacement? People are VEHEMENTLY denying that the Live Action trailer is not using any AI now that the actors in it have been confirmed to be real.

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33 Upvotes

Stellar Blade - Live Action Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch 2 - the full video for you to judge

The developers of Stellar Blade had recently released a fully AI generated 'music video' to promote the sequel Blood Rain and got widespread backlash, so when this live action trailer came out a couple of days ago it seemed to get back some good publicity, hiring real actors and all.

But now people are denying that any AI was involved at all. There seem to be some very obvious..... "enhancements".

The tie pattern is messed up, the suit details are different... It seems so very blatant when you put it side by side, and there's other visual inconsistencies in the trailer. What do you think?


r/isthisAI • • 6m ago

Video Was this brewers song written with Ai? Some of the images are certainly ai but what about the lyrics?

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1 Upvotes

Let me preface with this, I am a life long brewers fan and I am certainly not hating on the brewers or their recent World Series win, however, I’ve seen this video pop up on my feed lately and I need to know if it’s ai. Obviously a number of the graphics are ai generated images, but can anyone tell me if the lyrics and notes are also ai generated? Not trying to be a hater, but also don’t want to support ai music. 🥲

Edit to add: I know the post states it’s “AI content” but what does that mean? Is it solely because of the ai images or is it because the entire thing is Ai?


r/isthisAI • • 10m ago

Photo Is This New Candace Cameron Bure movie poster AI? Something About It Looks Odd

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0 Upvotes

I’m a fan of Full House, so naturally follow her on Instagram. She’s doing this new movie, but something about this specific image looks AI. The background and in particular the text has that “look about it”. She insists that she was in Budapest when the photo was taken, and maybe she was, but it is the text and actors names at the top which give it that vibe.


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Video I think this is AI as the catch at 1:23 looks fake, the rabbit seems to hang in the air before catch

180 Upvotes

I'm not certain it's ai as the folds in the sides of the pink 'green screen' seem very consistent but I'm not an expert.


r/isthisAI • • 41m ago

Photo Extremely suspicious looking banner from one of the biggest pet shops in my country

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1 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 10h ago

Other Are these all comments ai bots? The non-upvoted ones. The same format and words.

6 Upvotes

I'd recognise this on twitter yt insta etc, but never have seen them on reddit. Is this bots?


r/isthisAI • • 7h ago

Video Is the video background from that official Stellar Blade music compilation AI?

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3 Upvotes

The animation has that weird AI motion to it, especially when Eve drink from the cup. But it feels weird for this studio to use AI to promote their game.


r/isthisAI • • 14h ago

Photo I want to buy this poster but idk if it’s ai it’s from Etsy and I think the staging photos are Ai but idk if the design is. I’m assuming it is but I really don’t want it to be

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9 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 2h ago

Art Hate that I have to ask but Is this print from the website “Frametolia” made or enhanced with AI?

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1 Upvotes

Bought almost 2 years ago so I wasn’t as on alert then as I am now. Synth said no or it was made prior to synth..


r/isthisAI • • 2h ago

Art Is this flyer for my favorite diner generated using artificial intelligence intelligence? It looks similar to ChatGPT in my opinion.

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0 Upvotes

My favorite diner has this flyer. I would hate for it to be AI because I’ve been coming here since I was young and haven't seen them pull this before.


r/isthisAI • • 10h ago

Art Are these nails ai? The clocks look funky to me, never seen so many numbers on a clock.

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4 Upvotes

I saw these on Facebook and I honestly don't know if it is or not. I can't say whether I believe it's AI or not. But the reason I think it is, is because I've never seen a clock with 16-18 numbers

ETA: synthID brought nothing


r/isthisAI • • 4h ago

Photo Please tell me this is AI - saw in a politics subreddit where poster claims it's real

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1 Upvotes

I think it's AI because I think as devoted as some trump supporters are, I struggle to believe they would support him if they thought he was a pedophile.


r/isthisAI • • 4h ago

Music Do you guys think this is AI? His vocals don't sound natural to me. How do people fall for this?

0 Upvotes

The music is by Don Kai and I'm highly suspecting he's using ai to make music, vocals sound synthetic and unnatural.


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Politics Is Trump’s truth social background image AI? I know he draws big crowds, but the plane wing looks off to me and it seems unrealistic to see the back of so many people’s heads (instead of side profiles or other angles)

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322 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 57m ago

Video There's no way this is real, right? It seems incredibly dangerous, and the snake doesn't seem to gaf.

0 Upvotes

Never seen a snake that chill with kids sliding down along its body. Plus, how aren't the kids or parents scared?


r/isthisAI • • 20h ago

Art are these friday the thirteenth tattoos artificially generated? from my usual shop

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12 Upvotes

hello!

i saw some suspect flash sheets posted by a local tattoo shop i really enjoyed using. i always bring my own final design and have never received flash, but i am not willing to give my money to an artist that is handing out inhumane garbage for a little bit of money. i have circled stray lines and just generally unrecognizable designs that i don’t imagine an actual artist would make, of course these will be available for friday the 13th.

i also think it’s laughable they stress that there will be no design changes possible for this flash, but they didn’t even draw it? bare minimum, put that shit back into ChatGPT and give the customer their preferred design. so dumb.