AI image generators are everywhere right now, and they’re getting better every day. Type in a prompt, get a polished graphic in seconds—it’s hard not to be tempted, especially when you’re staring down a deadline and a tight budget.
But before you drop an AI-generated image into your next event poster or marketing piece, there are a few things worth knowing.
You can’t copyright it.
Under current U.S. law, images created entirely by AI can’t be copyrighted. That means if you use a purely AI-generated image as your main event artwork, anyone else can use that same image too—a competitor, another organization, another event. You’d have no legal recourse
It might accidentally infringe on someone else’s work.
AI image tools are trained on existing images from across the internet—including copyrighted photographs and illustrations. It’s nearly impossible to know what’s baked into the output, which means there’s a real risk that an AI image resembles something already owned by someone else.
Disclosure requirements are here.
Platforms like Meta and Google now require AI-generated content to be labeled, and new regulations—including the EU AI Act—are putting formal disclosure requirements in place. If you’re running paid ads for an event using an AI image without proper labeling, your account could be suspended or you could face deceptive advertising penalties.
It probably won’t scale.
I see this one all the time. AI images are typically generated as JPEGs at a fixed resolution, and what looks great on a screen can fall apart fast when you try to enlarge it for a banner, a billboard, or a high-quality print piece. These flat images often can’t easily be modified without starting over, especially if they contain text, and enlarging them usually results in images that aren’t as crisp and clean as we want.
Logos have an extra wrinkle.
If you’re thinking about using AI to generate a logo or event brand, know that while AI-generated logos can be trademarked (trademarks don’t require human authorship the way copyrights do), they still can’t be copyrighted. That limits your ability to control how the image gets used and enforced down the road.
So what can you do?
The good news is that AI isn’t off-limits—it just works best as a starting point, not a final product. Mockups created in AI can be a great way to help flesh out ideas and help a vendor know what you’re thinking, especially if the concept is vague or complex, but the final execution matters. When a human designer meaningfully shapes, modifies, and builds on AI-generated elements, that human creative contribution is what creates the possibility of copyright protection and really makes it yours. One thing I always do: when a client provides images or illustrations, I ask where they came from. It’s a simple question that keeps us both protected.
And rest assured: if you’re getting an image or graphic from me, it was NOT generated by AI. I use AI all the time for lots of things, but NEVER for artwork. I promise!
Not sure if an image is safe to use? Just ask. Let’s talk about it!