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Advertising is not only an idea and a design - it also involves consents, licences and the rights to the material you use. This tag covers the questions worth asking before a photograph, an image or somebody else's mark ends up on your leaflet.

12 August 2025

Can you safely use AI images in your company's advertising?

AI graphics tempt with speed and a low barrier to entry, but in company advertising it pays to act deliberately. We cover rights, brand image, privacy and print quality - plus practical good practices.

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Most legal trouble in advertising comes from haste rather than bad intent. A photograph pulled from a search engine, a font downloaded without reading the terms, a stranger's face in a picture from an event - any of these can come back months later. It is worth spending a moment checking them in advance.

Where your material comes from

The basic question is always the same: are you allowed to use this in company advertising, not merely in private. Many free sources separate those two cases, and the terms can change over time.

Photographs and illustrations - check whether the licence covers commercial use.
Fonts - some typefaces are free for personal projects only.
People in pictures - an advert needs the consent of anyone recognisable in the shot.
Other people's marks and logos - do not place them without the owner's agreement.
Images from AI tools - read the terms of the tool, because they differ from one to another.

Images made with AI

Artificial intelligence raises the most questions right now. Tools describe very differently who holds the rights to a generated image and whether it may be used commercially. Resemblance to existing works, marks and faces is a separate matter - if the result looks like something recognisable, it is safer to change the prompt and generate again.

These articles are a starting point, not legal advice. For a large campaign, packaging with compulsory information or any real doubt about a material, simply ask a lawyer - one consultation costs less than pulling a whole print run.