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Advice

Using AI-generated Art in Label Design

Can you make a label using this design I generated using ChatGPT?

–A Common Question from Clients

The answer to this is the most annoying one possible: It depends on what you plan to do with the art, where else you plan to use it, and what I contribute to it. There are more issues than those listed below, however, these are the ones I run into the most.

The Issues

Yes, I have the skill to use and incorporate AI-generated art into your label. But you really shouldn’t do that. It’s not because I am afraid AI will take my job; I am not. I use AI in both my personal and professional life daily. The real issue at hand is that although AI is useful in many tasks, AI is not always appropriate for all tasks.

Printing

Printing Images spit out directly from AI often need adjustments, like making sure they are high-enough resolution, the correct color space, or even re-typing text so it prints clearly.

In addition, AI-generated art only produces flat, rasterized images, as referenced in a previous post. For the best results, printers need layered vector files. Sometimes they can work with flat raster images, but the printed results are usually less than optimal–and sometimes they are downright unsatisfactory.

Copyright Ownership

Do you plan to use this AI-generated art elsewhere, on other merchandise that is a big part of your brand? On your website? Stickers? T-shirts? If so: no, you should not begin using this AI-generated work as the official face of your brand because you cannot stop from others using it, too. Why?

Because under current U.S. law, works created entirely by AI without human creative input are not eligible for copyright protection. The U.S. Copyright Office and courts have consistently held that copyright requires human authorship, and the Supreme Court confirmed this in 2026 by declining to revisit the rule in Thaler v. Perlmutter (2026).

Commercial Rights

To further complicate things, ownership and commercial rights are separate rules. Your ability to use the work may also depend on the platform’s terms of service. Different AI models and platforms offer different kinds of rights to use the work generated by AI. Some of them allow you to sell whatever you made. Some don’t. Some allow a limited license.

The Bottom Line

  • It’s possible you don’t own the design
  • I definitely don’t own the design
  • Your competitor can probably use the design
  • You might not have permission to make money off the design
  • The design could print like garbage