Stock photos are generic. Custom photography is expensive. AI image generation sits in a useful middle ground for business applications—if you understand its strengths and limitations.
Marketing materials are the obvious win. Social media images, blog illustrations, ad creative variations. AI generates dozens of options for the price of one stock photo, customized to your specific needs. The quality is professional enough for digital use.
Product mockups and concept visualization speed up design processes. Show a client what their product might look like before investing in production. Iterate on designs quickly. The images aren't final assets but they're excellent communication tools.
Limitations matter. Generated images can have subtle wrongness—extra fingers, text that's almost readable, physics that's almost right. Legal uncertainty around copyright of AI-generated images remains unresolved.
Lisa Thompson
Contributing writer at MoltBotSupport, covering AI productivity, automation, and the future of work.