Do I need a paid plan to use AI images commercially?

It depends on the tool. OpenAI and Google allow commercial use on their standard terms. Midjourney requires companies with more than $1,000,000 in yearly revenue to be on Pro or Mega to own outputs. Indemnities are paid-only: Google’s covers only services not provided free of charge, and OpenAI’s covers API and Enterprise customers.

Is an image from a "commercially safe" model free of risk?

No. Adobe uses that phrase for Firefly models trained on licensed and public domain content, and it offers an indemnity to enterprise customers. The phrase is about training data. Your own inputs, real people’s likenesses, other brands’ logos and misleading product claims remain your responsibility.

What if my agency made the images?

Ask which tool, plan and model it used. A vendor’s indemnity protects its own customer, so if the agency holds the account the promise runs to the agency. Your contract should require the agency to confirm it had rights to all inputs and to pass on any protection it has.

How often do these terms change?

Often enough to check each campaign. Of the terms on this page, OpenAI’s Service Terms were updated June 12, 2026, Midjourney’s took effect May 27, 2026, OpenRouter’s were updated August 31, 2026, and Google Cloud’s service terms changed on September 24, 2026. Save a dated copy when you produce a campaign.

Can you use AI images for commercial use?

Checked September 24, 20266 min read

Short answer

Yes, in most cases. OpenAI, Google and Midjourney allow their images in ads and on product pages; OpenAI and Midjourney say outputs are yours as far as the law allows, and Google claims no ownership. Who defends you if an image infringes is a separate question. Only some paid business plans promise that, among them OpenAI’s API and Enterprise, Google Cloud, Microsoft’s commercial Copilot and Azure OpenAI, and Adobe Firefly for enterprise. OpenAI’s and Google’s promises exclude trademark claims and edited outputs.

Two questions to ask about any AI image

Commercial use comes down to two questions. First, do the terms let you use the output in advertising and sell products with it? For the major tools the answer is yes. Second, if a photographer, artist or brand says your image copies their work, who pays to defend you? That second promise is called an indemnity: a contract term in which the vendor agrees to defend you and pay if a third party claims the output infringes their rights.

An indemnity comes only from a contract with the vendor, and it protects the vendor’s customer. If your agency holds the account, the promise runs to the agency.

What the main tools allow (September 2026)

Tool and plan	Commercial use and ownership	Indemnity for outputs	Main conditions and exclusions
OpenAI ChatGPT, individual plans	Allowed. You own the output.	None in the individual terms. Business users instead promise to indemnify OpenAI.	You must have the rights to what you upload.
OpenAI API and ChatGPT Enterprise	Allowed. You own the output.	Yes, for claims that your use of the output infringes someone’s intellectual property.	Not covered if you knew or should have known it infringed, turned off safety features, modified the output or combined it with other products, lacked rights to your inputs, or the claim is about trademarks used in commerce.
Google Gemini API (Google AI Studio)	Allowed. Google does not claim ownership.	None in the Gemini API terms.	Google may generate similar content for others.
Google Cloud: Vertex AI (now called Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform) and Gemini in Workspace	Allowed.	Yes, for unmodified output from listed paid services, and for claims about Google’s training data.	Not for free use, trademark claims from use in commerce, output you knew was likely infringing, disabled filters, or use after a rights holder’s notice.
Microsoft: Azure OpenAI and paid commercial Copilot services	Allowed.	Yes, the Customer Copyright Commitment: Microsoft defends you and pays adverse judgments.	You must use the built-in content filters and required mitigations, and not try to produce infringing material.
Adobe Firefly	Allowed. Adobe says Firefly models are trained on licensed content, such as Adobe Stock, and public domain work.	Adobe says it indemnifies enterprise customers for content generated with Adobe Firefly.	Adobe ties the promise to Firefly. Its page does not say the same for partner models offered in its apps, so ask before relying on it.
Midjourney	Allowed. You own outputs as far as the law allows, but a company with more than $1,000,000 a year in revenue must be on the Pro or Mega plan to own them.	None. You indemnify Midjourney.	Outputs come "as is", with no promise that they do not infringe.
OpenRouter, a service that gives one account and one bill for many AI models	Set by each model maker’s terms.	None from OpenRouter. You indemnify OpenRouter.	You agree to each model maker’s terms when you use its model.

From each company’s published terms on September 24, 2026.

Where indemnities stop: edited images and trademarks

Brand images rarely go out as the raw render. You retouch them, add type, composite the real pack shot and crop them for each placement. OpenAI’s promise does not apply where the output was "modified, transformed, or used in combination with" products OpenAI did not provide, and Google’s covers only unmodified output. Both exclude trademark claims that arise from using the output in trade. A finished ad can fall outside both promises even when the raw render was covered.

The indemnity still has value. Keep the unmodified render and its prompt with every final file, so you can show which part came from the covered service. Treat logos and brand names in the image as your own risk; see logos and trademarks in AI images.

Risks no tool term covers

Risk	What it looks like	Read next
Your inputs	A reference photo, stock image or mood board you had no right to upload. OpenAI’s and Midjourney’s terms make you promise you had those rights.	Using other people’s photos as references
Close copies	An output that reproduces a known character or artwork. Disney and other studios’ copyright case against Midjourney was still open in federal court in California on September 24, 2026.	Who owns AI-generated images
Real people	A face that looks like a real person, or a model’s likeness used without a release.	AI images of real people
Misleading product images	The render shows a feature, color or accessory the real product does not have.	FTC rules for AI product images
Labels	A realistic AI image shown to people in the EU without an AI label.	EU AI Act rules

A pre-publish checklist

Note the tool, plan and model behind each image, and save a copy of the terms that applied that day.
Check that your plan allows commercial use and, on Midjourney, that your plan matches your company’s revenue.
Know whether your plan has an indemnity, who holds it, and what it excludes.
Confirm you had rights to every reference image and product photo you uploaded.
Keep the unmodified render next to the final edited file.
Zoom in and look for other brands’ logos, watermarks, signatures and readable text.
Compare the product in the image with the real product: shape, color, parts and label.
Check that no face resembles a real person you have no release for.
Label the image where the law or the platform requires it.
If an agency or freelancer made it, get the points above confirmed in writing.

The full sign-off list for a finished image is the AI image QA checklist.

Questions people also ask

Do I need a paid plan to use AI images commercially?: It depends on the tool. OpenAI and Google allow commercial use on their standard terms. Midjourney requires companies with more than $1,000,000 in yearly revenue to be on Pro or Mega to own outputs. Indemnities are paid-only: Google’s covers only services not provided free of charge, and OpenAI’s covers API and Enterprise customers.
Is an image from a "commercially safe" model free of risk?: No. Adobe uses that phrase for Firefly models trained on licensed and public domain content, and it offers an indemnity to enterprise customers. The phrase is about training data. Your own inputs, real people’s likenesses, other brands’ logos and misleading product claims remain your responsibility.
What if my agency made the images?: Ask which tool, plan and model it used. A vendor’s indemnity protects its own customer, so if the agency holds the account the promise runs to the agency. Your contract should require the agency to confirm it had rights to all inputs and to pass on any protection it has.
How often do these terms change?: Often enough to check each campaign. Of the terms on this page, OpenAI’s Service Terms were updated June 12, 2026, Midjourney’s took effect May 27, 2026, OpenRouter’s were updated August 31, 2026, and Google Cloud’s service terms changed on September 24, 2026. Save a dated copy when you produce a campaign.

Where Overs fits

Overs runs on your own OpenRouter key (OpenRouter is a service that gives one account and one bill for many AI models), so the terms of the image model you pick, and OpenRouter’s, apply to every photo. The export records which model made each photo and which reference pictures went in, so you can match each image to the terms in force.

Free for 40 photos a month. The AI that makes the photos is billed separately, on your own key, with no markup from Overs.

Start free How it works

Sources

Checked on September 24, 2026. Prices, specs and rules change; follow the links for the current versions.