The shortlist
5 things that do it.
Free web tools and a Chrome extension that check images and video for AI generation, and predict which generator made them.
- Free
- The Chrome extension is free with no login (Chrome Web Store listing).
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Free checks with no login, by right-click, upload or paste.
- The catch
- It shows a likelihood only. In NewsGuard's test Hive flagged none of 15 real photos but caught 9 of 15 heavily manipulated ones (73.33 percent), and a Hive result was cited online to wrongly call a real video fake.
- chrome
- web
- api
Upload an image to see whether it is AI or real, with a generator breakdown, plus deepfake checks, mainly sold as an API.
- Free
- $5 in free credits to start, including 20 AI image checks.
- Paid
- from $5 per month (Pro, includes $10 of credits)
- Best at
- Naming the likely generator, and catching all 15 heavily manipulated images in NewsGuard's test.
- The catch
- In that same test it flagged 1 of 15 real photos as AI; its CEO said low image quality can sometimes cause a false positive. Its 98.9% accuracy figure is the vendor's own.
- web
- api
A drag-and-drop checker that reports how likely an image is AI-generated and whether faces were manipulated.
- Free
- A drag-and-drop checker is on the page; usage limits not stated there.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Flagging all 15 real photos as real in NewsGuard's test.
- The catch
- The same test found it identified only 5 of 15 heavily altered images (33 percent). Its founder said the base model is made for fully AI-generated or heavily edited images.
- web
- api
Upload an image to Gemini and ask "Is this AI-generated?"; Gemini checks for the SynthID watermark.
- Free
- Google says it is available to everyone in the Gemini app; plan limits not checked.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Checking images made or edited with Google AI for its SynthID watermark.
- The catch
- Per Google's post it verifies Google AI images only; checking content from other makers depends on future C2PA support.
- Gemini app
Drag a file in to inspect its Content Credentials, the signed record of who made it and how it changed.
- Free
- No price or account is mentioned on the Verify page.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Showing a tamper-evident creation and editing history when the file carries one.
- The catch
- The page itself says Content Credentials are still rolling out, so an image may have nothing to view. No credentials does not mean an image is real or fake.
- web
The same shortlist, as a table
| Thing | Free tier | Paid from | Platforms | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hive AI Detectorrel="nofollow noopener" | The Chrome extension is free with no login (Chrome Web Store listing). | not checked | chrome, web, api | It shows a likelihood only. In NewsGuard's test Hive flagged none of 15 real photos but caught 9 of 15 heavily manipulated ones (73.33 percent), and a Hive result was cited online to wrongly call a real video fake. |
| AI or Notrel="nofollow noopener" | $5 in free credits to start, including 20 AI image checks. | $5 per month (Pro, includes $10 of credits) | web, api | In that same test it flagged 1 of 15 real photos as AI; its CEO said low image quality can sometimes cause a false positive. Its 98.9% accuracy figure is the vendor's own. |
| Sightengine AI image detectorrel="nofollow noopener" | A drag-and-drop checker is on the page; usage limits not stated there. | not checked | web, api | The same test found it identified only 5 of 15 heavily altered images (33 percent). Its founder said the base model is made for fully AI-generated or heavily edited images. |
| Google SynthID in the Gemini apprel="nofollow noopener" | Google says it is available to everyone in the Gemini app; plan limits not checked. | not checked | Gemini app | Per Google's post it verifies Google AI images only; checking content from other makers depends on future C2PA support. |
| Content Credentials Verifyrel="nofollow noopener" | No price or account is mentioned on the Verify page. | not checked | web | The page itself says Content Credentials are still rolling out, so an image may have nothing to view. No credentials does not mean an image is real or fake. |
How we checked
What we read, and what we haven't tested yet.
On 2 October 2026 we read the vendor pages listed under sources: the Hive extension's Chrome Web Store listing and Hive's detection page, AI or Not's home and pricing pages, Sightengine's detector page, Google's Gemini announcement, the Content Credentials Verify page and the Content Authenticity Initiative FAQ, plus NewsGuard's published audit. We didn't test any detector hands-on.
If none of these fit
The manual way.
Use more than one check. Look for Content Credentials or a SynthID answer, run a second detector, and track down the image's original source, because the free checks above can disagree. NewsGuard's audit used 45 images (15 real photos and two edited versions of each), so treat its figures as one small test, not a ranking.