AI images for social posts: when to generate and when to shoot

Two kinds of image

Every image on a business account does one of two jobs. A documentary image shows something real: the dish, the room, the haircut, the team. An illustrative image sets a mood or carries a message: a seasonal graphic, an announcement card, a backdrop for a quote. Trouble starts when the second kind is passed off as the first.

When a generated image is the right call

Generate when the image is a carrier for words or feeling, and nobody will hold it up against reality.

• Announcements: opening hours, closures, events, hiring.
• Seasonal and themed graphics where no photo exists yet.
• Backgrounds for a tip, a quote or a number.
• Concept visuals for services that are hard to photograph, such as bookkeeping or insurance.

When to use a real photo

Use a real photo whenever the picture is a promise. A plate of food, a finished set of nails, a rental room and a product in a given size and color are all things a customer will compare with what arrives. A generated version that looks better than the real thing sets up a disappointment, and in some trades it can mislead.

The same goes for people. Show your real staff and customers, with their agreement, or show nobody.

How to describe the image you want

A good image request names four things: the subject, the setting, the mood and the space for text. 'A warm flat-lay of autumn leaves and a coffee cup, with room at the top for a headline' is enough. Add your brand colors if they matter, and give the shape: square or vertical for the feed, tall for a story. An image made in the wrong shape gets cropped by the app, and the crop usually takes the headline with it.

Say what must not appear, too. If you never show alcohol, or your shop has no fireplace, tell the agent before it draws one.

Check before approving

Generated images fail in small ways. Look closely at five things.

• Any text inside the image: spelling, dates, prices.
• Hands, faces and small details that look wrong at a second glance.
• Logos or products that resemble someone else's.
• Whether the picture implies something you do not offer.
• The current rules on labeling AI-made media, which each platform publishes for itself.

Where Link AI fits

Link AI by Linkme is our pick because the image is not the end of its work. Linkme's page says the agent makes the images and videos, that you can ask it to generate an image, and that it drafts your posts for you to approve. On that description, the picture can come back inside a drafted post, not as a loose file that still needs a caption and somewhere to go.

Two things we cannot confirm are whether Link AI can edit or build on your own photos, and how it applies a brand's colors and fonts. Ask to see both when you book a demo to try Link AI. If you would rather lay out graphics by hand, the directory entry for Canva describes design software, which plays a different role.

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