My art got flagged as AI: 6 steps to take today

TL;DR: Treat the flag as a request to show your process, not a final answer. Ask what flagged it, collect your layered files and edit history, send a short, factual appeal through the platform, and keep copies of everything.

Want a record ready for next time? Start free at drawdog.art/download.

Treat the flag as a request to show your process, not a final verdict. Find out what flagged the work, gather your layered files and edit history, send a short factual appeal through the platform's own channel, and keep copies of everything. It often takes a second try, so build the evidence folder before you need it.

What to do in the first ten minutes

Do these in order. Don't delete the post, don't argue in the comments, and don't re-export the file yet. Your original files are your record.

1. Ask what flagged it. Get the name of the tool or label, any score or report, and who reviews an appeal. An automatic platform label and a third party detection score are different situations with different appeal routes.
2. Gather your source files. A layered working file (PSD, Procreate, Clip Studio, Krita) with its layers intact is the strongest proof the advice pages point to, because generators don't hand you layered sources. Trinka's checklist says the same, and it's worth remembering that Trinka is a writing tool vendor.
3. Pull edit history and file metadata. Version history, creation dates and app markers can all show a human workflow over time.
4. Appeal through the platform's own channel. Use its Help Center or support form, not a reply to the post. Say plainly that the work is yours and no AI tools were used, if that's true.
5. Keep the message short and factual. Attach drafts, sketches and version history rather than writing a long defense.
6. Keep copies and dates. Note when you posted, when it was flagged, and when you appealed.

What to attach, and what each item proves

Not every piece of evidence does the same job. Be honest with yourself about what each one shows, because a reviewer will be.

Evidence	What it shows	What it doesn't show
Layered working file	The piece was built up in stages, with separate layers you control	Who made the layers, if someone is determined to fake it
Version history	Dated saves showing the work changing over time. See Photoshop version history: turning it on, what it records	Anything before you turned it on
Timelapse export	Strokes appearing in order. See Procreate timelapse as proof	How long the session really ran, or what else was open
Sketches and drafts	Your thinking before the final. See How to Keep a Digital Sketchbook as Proof You Made the Work	The final render step by step
Reference folder and notes	Where the idea came from	That you drew the final yourself

No single item settles it. Together they make a pile a reviewer can say yes to.

Where to appeal: one documented example

Appeal routes differ by platform, so find your platform's own report or appeal form and read its help page first. Forms and limits change.

The one route described in detail in the pages I reviewed is Pinterest's Gen AI label appeal. These steps come from artists who used it, not from Pinterest, so treat them as "as described by artists" and check Pinterest's own Help Center before you rely on them.

According to Lancy McCall's walkthrough:

1. Take a screenshot of the Pin and copy its link.
2. In the Pinterest Help Center, search "AI Modified" and find the "Appeal your label" section.
3. Use the link to contact support, make sure "Appeal a Gen AI label" is selected, then upload the screenshot and paste the link or links.

Both that post and Amy Denise's account say you can appeal three Pins at a time. Amy Denise also says a fix may not last, so a label can come back. One of the posts describes the appeal as starting a human review. That's a claim from the page, not a promise of the result.

The pages I reviewed didn't show a documented appeal route for Instagram, ArtStation, Behance or Cara. If you use one of those, look at its help page or support form, and don't trust a forum comment that claims to know the secret button.

A sample appeal message

This is a made-up sample. Swap in your own details and delete anything that isn't true for you.

Subject: Request for review regarding AI-generated flag

Hello, my illustration posted on [date] at [link] was labeled as AI generated. I made this piece myself and used no AI tools. I've attached my layered working file, version history screenshots and early sketches showing how it was built. Please review the label and let me know what else you need. Thank you.

Keep it that short. Don't threaten, don't make legal claims, and don't accuse anyone. A reviewer clearing a queue wants to see the evidence, not a speech.

Why detection tools get it wrong

Results differ from one detection tool to the next, which is how false positives happen. WeDetect makes that point, though it also sells detection, so read it with that in mind. Artists have also described human made work labeled "AI" or "AI modified" on Pinterest. Those are individual reports, not a measure of how often it happens.

The structural problem is that a tool judging a finished image is guessing from the pixels. It can't see how the piece was made. That's why the useful move is always to bring evidence from the making, not to argue with the score.

If the appeal fails or the label comes back

• Keep the evidence folder and appeal again. Some artists report needing more than one try.
• Add the same evidence to a process page on your portfolio so anyone checking has a place to look. How to write a process page for your portfolio walks through it.
• If a client is asking, send them the layered file or version history directly. A calm "here's how it was made" lands better than a defense.
• Don't pay anyone who promises to reverse a platform's decision. Nobody outside the platform can promise that.

Be ready before it happens

Most of the pain in a flag comes from scrambling. You're trying to rebuild proof for a piece you finished weeks ago, and half of it is gone.

The cheap fix is a habit: turn on version history where your app has it, keep your layered files, save sketches, and note dates. Do it on every piece, not just the ones you worry about.

A process record kept as you work is the same idea with less effort. DrawDog is a menu bar app for Mac and Windows that runs in the background and records process metadata as the work happens: session time, file growth, stroke frequency and app usage. It never records file contents, file names, folder paths, keystrokes, screen contents or browser tabs. When the piece is done you get a certificate page with the time spent, stroke count, AI tool percentage and a file fingerprint match. Clients can open it with no account and nothing to install.

To be clear about the limits: DrawDog is not a detection tool, a certificate is not a legal document, and it can't change what a platform decides. What it gives you is a record that already exists when someone asks.

If you want to try that, Download DrawDog free, three certificates per month, no credit card required.

See the kind of link you can attach to an appeal: drawdog.art/c/sample.

Related: Best ways to prove your art is human-made and Art contests and AI rules.