Is it legal to use AI-generated images in my YouTube videos?

It's legal to use AI-generated images in YouTube videos, but the copyright status of those images is currently a legal gray area that could create problems for you down the road. Here's the confusing part. In the United States, the Copyright Office has repeatedly ruled that images created entirely by AI with no meaningful human input cannot be copyrighted. That means you don't own them. Anyone else could take that same image from your video thumbnail and use it for their own project, and you'd have no legal grounds to stop them. The bigger risk, though, is accidental infringement. AI image generators like Midjourney and DALL-E are trained on massive datasets that include copyrighted artwork. Sometimes the outputs closely mimic a specific artist's style or even reproduce recognizable elements of their work. Getty Images is currently suing Stability AI over this exact issue, arguing that their copyrighted photos were used without permission. If an AI tool spits out an image that's substantially similar to a copyrighted work and you use it commercially, you could be on the hook. I've seen this trip up small creators who had no idea they were doing anything wrong. Your safest bet is to use AI images as a starting point and then modify them significantly — add text overlays, composite them with other elements, apply heavy filters. That human creative input strengthens any fair use argument and makes it harder for someone to claim you just copied an AI output wholesale. Also, check the terms of service for whatever AI tool you're using. Some, like Adobe Firefly, are trained on licensed content and offer indemnification to users, which is a fancy way of saying they'll cover your legal bills if you get sued. **Related**: Can I copyright AI-generated content in 2026? | What AI image tools are safe for commercial use?