PipeflowWhat AI images are good for in small businesses
An AI image is quickly made: you describe in a few sentences what you want to see and get a finished picture. That's handy for many posts, such as an autumn mood for a café, a symbolic image about saving energy for an electrician or a background for a notice about changed opening hours.
It gets difficult when an image is supposed to show something that really exists: your team, your premises, your products, your finished work. Here people expect a real photo. This is exactly the line that decides whether an AI image helps you or rather harms you.
So a good question before every post is: would someone feel deceived if they found out this image isn't real? If the answer is yes, use your own photo instead, even if it looks less perfect. Real everyday pictures taken on a phone often come across as more likeable for small businesses than any slick glossy scene.
Labelling: what the platforms require
Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn have their own rules for content created or heavily edited with AI. Instagram can add a note such as “AI info” to posts, sometimes automatically if the image file contains the relevant information. Depending on the app version, there's also an option to label the post as AI content yourself when uploading. LinkedIn shows information about the origin of some images. The labels and processes keep changing, so it's worth checking the current help pages of each platform.
On top of that there's the EU AI Act, which among other things deals with transparency for AI-generated content. Which obligations apply, and from when, to a small business that uses an AI image in a post can't be answered across the board. The rules are coming into force step by step and are still being interpreted. If you use AI images regularly, ask your trade association or a legal adviser about the current situation.
Regardless of any obligation: a short note such as “Image created with AI” costs you nothing and takes the wind out of any criticism.
Stay honest: an AI image is not a piece of your work
The most important rule has less to do with laws than with trust. Never show an AI image as if it were your real work. A joinery that posts an AI kitchen as “our latest project” is deceiving its customers. A hair salon that shows an AI hairstyle as a result from its own chair raises expectations that will be disappointed at the real appointment.
Images like that are often found out: details don't add up, hands look strange, customers don't recognise the room. Then it's no longer about an image but about your credibility. In the worst case, such a depiction can also count as misleading advertising. Practices, law firms, pharmacies and advisory professions also have their own professional rules: images that promise treatment success or results are especially sensitive there.
- Fine: symbolic images, moods, backgrounds for text posts, illustrations for tips.
- Sensitive: people who look like your team, or rooms that look like yours.
- Off limits: AI images presented as real projects, real products or real before-and-after results.
Rights: who owns an AI image?
Much about the rights to AI images has not yet been settled. Whether copyright arises at all in an image generated purely by AI is disputed in Austria and Germany and depends on the individual case. For you that means: you can't rely on others not being allowed to use your AI image too.
More important day to day are the terms of use of the tool you create the image with. They state whether commercial use is allowed. Read them calmly once, especially with free services.
Also be careful with prompts like “in the style of” well-known artists, with brands and logos in the image and with faces that resemble real people. Third-party rights may be affected here, even if the image is technically new.
Practical rules for your business
So that you don't have to think it through again for every post, a short house rule helps. Write it down and pass it on to everyone who posts for you.
An example of an honest post with an AI image from a bakery: “Autumn is here, and our pumpkin seed bread is back. The picture was designed with AI, but the bread will be real in our display case from Monday. 🍂 #bakery #autumn”
- Real things first: Always use real photos for your team, premises, products and work.
- Add a note: Label AI images in the text or via the platform if they look realistic.
- Look closely: Check hands, lettering and details before anything goes online.
- Know the terms: Read the usage rights of the AI tool once and file them away.
- Ask: If you're unsure, get advice from your chamber or a lawyer.