Why You’ll See “Made with AI” on Some of Our Images

I am old enough to remember the time before generative AI, when Made with AI wasn’t a thing yet. Back then hunting for manufacturing-themed visuals (especially free or reasonably priced ones) was a struggle. The choice was between shiny stock photos of spotless factories with business-types holding tablets or clip-boards and a random assortment of generic pictures that miss the point – or at least my point. I spent hours on Photoshop only to come up with visuals that looked photoshopped by someone who had a tentative grasp of the art of digital image manipulation.

Then came early genAI and with that humans that looked like aliens and backgrounds settings that were appropriate for fantasy-themed video games, but not our website.

Now the area of decent images made with AI has arrived. They aren’t perfect – yet – but good enough for most purposes: no six finger hands, no three-armed machine operators, no tablets floating freely in mid-air.

You might ask, why I am talking about my challenges as a marketing professional in the manufacturing space?

It is to explain why we decided to err on the side of transparency and – going forward – will label imagery we generate for blogs and other marketing assets with a small “Made with AI” tag. This isn’t a grand moral stance. It’s a simple, practical way to help readers understand what they’re looking at.

Why Transparency Matters

Here’s why we think this simple gesture matters:

Transparency builds trust – Manufacturing runs on specifications, traceability, and quality checks. Labels on parts, ingredients on packaging – these small signals help people trust the process. A “Made with AI” tag plays the same role for marketing visuals. It says what it is, and lets you decide how much weight to give it.

Clarity about what we build vs. how we communicate – Our products use classical AI because factories need reliability, determinism, and repeatability. Generative AI is fantastic for exploring ideas and making quick visuals, but we don’t use it to keep our customers’ lines running. Labeling keeps that distinction crisp: classical AI in the tools we deliver, generative AI in the imagery we publish.

Respect for creators – There are great photographers and illustrators out there, but as a small company we simply can’t afford a photoshoot or high-end, specialized stock imagery. A label acknowledges that a model helped us get what we need and avoids implying a human made an image when that’s not the case.

Avoiding confusion when AI art is everywhere – We’ve all seen examples of AI imagery used in ways that feel misleading. A small label says, that we are not doing that and provides a clear note so you don’t have to guess.

Future-friendly – Guidelines around AI transparency are evolving. Getting into the habit now means we won’t be scrambling later. It’s easier to keep the habit than adopt it under pressure.

A Small “Made with AI” Brings Clarity

So here is what we’ll do:

• Going forward when we generate images we’ll add a small “Made with AI” badge in a corner (going back and adding the label to old images will, unfortunately, take too much time)
• For photos we shoot ourselves or that come from a stock photography site, there won’t be a label.
• In alt text, we’ll mention when an image is AI-generated, which also helps with accessibility.

And here is what we won’t do (and have never done): We won’t use AI imagery to represent something that could mislead you about our product’s capabilities or a customer’s results.

This is a small gesture, not a sermon. The label is our way of taking part in a broader effort toward transparency. It’s a small tag that makes expectations clearer, conversations easier, and trust a little stronger.

If you ever spot an image where you have doubts or questions about how something was made, tell us. We’re happy to review and – if we forgot to label an image – to fix the problem.

Here is how you can reach us: Email Accella AI