What the reader looks for
| Signal | What it is | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Content Credentials (C2PA) | A signed provenance manifest embedded by tools such as ChatGPT Images, Adobe Firefly, Microsoft Designer and a growing list of cameras and editors. It can record the generating tool, edit actions and an AI-source declaration. | Strong |
| IPTC Digital Source Type | A standard XMP field. The value trainedAlgorithmicMedia means “created by a trained AI model”; compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia means a composite that includes AI elements. Stock agencies and social platforms read it. | Strong |
| Stable Diffusion / Forge “parameters” | A PNG text chunk with the full prompt, negative prompt, seed, sampler, steps and model hash. | Recipe |
| ComfyUI workflow | The complete node graph stored as JSON inside the PNG. You can download it and load it back into ComfyUI. | Recipe |
| Midjourney description | Midjourney downloads can carry the prompt and a Job ID in the image description and IPTC fields. | Recipe |
| Software / CreatorTool | An editor or generator name. Useful context, but not a standard AI-provenance record. | Weak |
Why sellers check metadata before uploading
- Disclosure consistency. If your file declares AI origin through C2PA or IPTC, a listing that claims “hand-drawn” or omits a required AI label is easy to contradict.
- Prompt and workflow privacy. PNGs from Stable Diffusion WebUI, Forge and ComfyUI carry the full recipe. Delivering the original file to a client hands over your prompt, seed and node graph — the prompt metadata remover makes a clean copy.
- Stock submission readiness. Adobe Stock accepts generative AI illustrations between 4 and 100 megapixels; the checker flags raw exports that are too small. Shutterstock does not accept AI-generated contributor uploads at all.
- Generator rights. When a generator is detected, jump straight to its commercial-use rules and the selling destination check.
Questions
Can this prove an image is AI-generated?
No. It reads what the file says about itself. A Content Credentials manifest or an IPTC trainedAlgorithmicMedia value is a strong declaration, but metadata can be removed, and visual AI detectors are a different (and much less reliable) technology.
Why does my AI image show “No AI metadata found”?
Screenshots, clipboard pastes, messaging apps, social uploads, many upscalers and “export for web” settings drop metadata. Invisible watermarks such as Google SynthID are not stored in metadata and cannot be read here.
Does Etsy or Amazon KDP read this metadata?
Their disclosure rules are based on how the image was made, not on what the file carries. Missing metadata does not remove a disclosure obligation. Adobe Stock also asks you to label generative AI uploads during submission, and Shutterstock does not accept AI-generated contributor uploads.
Is my image uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read by JavaScript in this tab. Nothing is sent to AI Pic Market or any third party, and closing the tab discards it.
Primary sources
- C2PA technical specification
- IPTC Digital Source Type vocabulary
- Content Credentials Verify (official signature check)
- Adobe Stock illustration technical requirements
- Shutterstock: JPEG under 4 MP error
Formats, standards and upload limits checked on November 5, 2026.