Can you use AI-generated images and text for your business?
By Rodney Noriega, Founder, Universal Enablement · Published Oct 12, 2026 · Updated Oct 12, 2026
Short answer
Often yes, with care. AI tools were trained on huge amounts of copyrighted material, and they can produce work that closely resembles an existing artist, brand or product, even if you never named it. The legal picture is still forming: in July 2026 a US court approved Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement with authors over pirated books, while cases like The New York Times' suit against OpenAI are still in court. Check AI content before publishing, and keep your core brand assets human-made.
The data behind major tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and image generators, includes much of the public web plus books, art and code. A lot of it is copyrighted. In the Anthropic case, the judge found that training on legally bought books was fair use, but pirated copies weren't covered, and that part settled. Dozens of other cases are ongoing, and Canadian law on this is still unsettled.
The tools are told not to copy protected work, but it's not hard to get close. A student team described a well-known painter's style in a few words, without her name, and got images strikingly similar to her work. Another asked for a sketch of "a new car" and got something that looked a lot like a Tesla.
This isn't legal advice, but some sensible habits:
- Don't use AI for logos, trademarks or signature brand visuals.
- Avoid prompts that name or describe a specific artist, brand or product.
- Read your AI tool's terms on commercial use and ownership.
- Use AI images for low-stakes, short-term uses, and keep a record of how they were made.
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