Selling AI images: what stock sites and marketplaces require you to declare
By The NeutronField editorsPublished Updated
Short answer
Some marketplaces take AI images and some refuse them. Adobe Stock and Freepik accept them if you label them; Shutterstock, iStock, Getty Images and Alamy do not accept them at all; Etsy allows AI work if the listing says AI was used. Wherever you sell, never name real people, artists or brands in prompts, and keep the original file and your prompt log.
Stock sites
| Site | AI images accepted | What you must do |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Stock | Yes | Tick "Created using generative AI tools"; no artist, real-person or character names in prompts, titles or keywords; model release for any identifiable person |
| Freepik (now Magnific) | Yes | Tag the file as AI-generated or it may be rejected |
| Shutterstock | No | Contributors may not submit AI-generated content |
| iStock and Getty Images | No | Small AI retouching only, with no new visual elements |
| Alamy | No | AI-generated images are rejected and removed |
| Etsy | Yes | Say in the listing description that AI was used; do not present AI work as handmade |
| Spreadshirt | Yes | Only if your AI tool's terms allow commercial use |
Adobe Stock is the clearest about what it wants. The AI checkbox is "Required for all content created with generative AI software", prompts and keywords must not contain "Names of artists, real people, or fictional characters", and any AI image meant to portray an identifiable person needs a model release (Adobe Stock). Images from Adobe's own Firefly are accepted on the same terms, provided they carry no watermark (Adobe Stock Firefly FAQ).
The large photo agencies went the other way. Shutterstock says it "will not allow AI-generated content to be submitted by contributors", giving as its reason that ownership of such content cannot be assigned to an individual (Shutterstock). iStock states it "does not accept AI-generated visuals in our library", allowing only small AI edits that add nothing new (iStock), and Alamy says it rejects and removes AI-generated images (Alamy). Freepik, which now operates as Magnific, accepts AI resources but may reject any that are not tagged as AI-generated (Magnific).
Print on demand and marketplaces
Etsy lists AI work under items "Designed by a seller" and says sellers "must disclose within their listing description if an item is created with the use of AI" (Etsy creativity standards). An update on 22 October 2026 added that AI work must not be presented as handmade or entirely the seller's own, banned bot-generated listings and AI-generated functional guides such as patterns and recipes, and asked for at least one unedited photo of the real item for most listings (Etsy Seller Handbook).
Print-on-demand sites vary and change often. Spreadshirt allows AI designs if the terms of the AI tool you used permit commercial use (Spreadshirt). Check the current rules of any site before you upload; this page notes the date we checked each one.
What your file already says
Before you declare anything, the file may have done it for you. Original downloads from Google's and OpenAI's image models carried a signed content credential naming the generator in every test we ran, and Adobe applies credentials to Firefly images automatically. A buyer or a marketplace can read that record, so a declaration that contradicts it will not hold up.
Re-saving a file removes the credential, but it does not change what you made. Declare honestly whatever the file says or does not say, and keep the original. Our four layers page shows what each kind of record can and cannot prove, and the Made with AI section covers each generator.
Styles, people and brands
The rules that recur across every site are about other people's rights. Do not use real people's names or recognisable faces without a release, do not name living artists to borrow their style, and keep brands, logos and characters out of prompts and keywords. Adobe Stock spells this out; the sites that refuse AI images entirely make the question moot.
For realistic people in particular, see real people in prompts, and keep a prompt log so you can show how each image you sell was made.
A missing label does not mean an image is human-made.
Sources
- Adobe Stock: Generative AI content guidelines (accessed 2026-11-02)helpx.adobe.com
- Adobe Stock: Firefly FAQ (accessed 2026-11-02)helpx.adobe.com
- Shutterstock: Content policy updates, AI-generated content (accessed 2026-11-02)submit.shutterstock.com
- iStock: AI-free imagery policy (accessed 2026-11-02)istockphoto.com
- Alamy: Sell stock images (accessed 2026-11-02)alamy.com
- Magnific (Freepik): AI-generated resources guidelines (accessed 2026-11-02)magnific.com
- Etsy: Creativity standards (accessed 2026-11-02)etsy.com
- Etsy Seller Handbook: Important updates to AI use on Etsy, 2026-10-22 (accessed 2026-11-02)etsy.com
- Spreadshirt: AI and designs, 2024-06-07 (accessed 2026-11-02)spreadshirt.com
Questions
Can I sell AI-generated images on stock sites?
On some. Adobe Stock and Freepik accept them if labelled as AI. Shutterstock, iStock, Getty Images and Alamy do not accept AI-generated submissions, as of 2026-11-02.
Does Adobe Stock accept AI images?
Yes, if you tick the generative AI box, keep artist, real-person and character names out of prompts and keywords, and supply a model release for any identifiable person.
Can I sell AI art on Etsy?
Yes, as a seller-designed item, if the listing description says AI was used. Since October 2026 Etsy also forbids presenting AI work as handmade and bans AI-generated patterns and recipes.
Does Shutterstock accept AI-generated images?
No. Shutterstock says contributors may not submit AI-generated content for licensing, because its ownership cannot be assigned to an individual.
Do I need to label AI images I sell?
On the sites that accept them, yes: Adobe Stock, Freepik and Etsy all require you to mark AI use. Keep the original file and your prompt log as evidence.
Related reading
- Made with AIKeep a prompt log: your own record of how each AI image was madeA prompt log is a simple table you keep yourself: the date, the tool and model version, the full prompt, the settings and seed, which frame you kept, and a SHA-256 hash of the original file.
- Made with AIPrompting real people: likeness rules, refusals and the labels platforms requireGenerator rules and the law both treat real people as the hardest case.
- PromptsWhat happened to AI prompt marketplaces (and the one that used to live on this domain)Prompt marketplaces sold the exact wording that got a good picture out of an AI image model.
- Made with AIWhat your AI image carries: credentials, watermarks, metadata and the prompt itselfAn AI-generated image file can carry four records: a signed content credential, an invisible watermark in the pixels, ordinary metadata fields, and the prompt saved as text.