How To Protect Your Creative Work Against AI

Protecting Your Creative Work from AI Scraping & Training

Many artists, writers, crafters, and illustrators are concerned about AI systems (like LLMs) mining their work without permission. While it's hard to fully prevent this, here are effective steps you can take to safeguard your work.

1. Add Explicit Copyright Notices

Even though copyright protection is automatic in many countries, make it visible and direct.

Example:

Add this in your artwork, metadata, headers, and image descriptions.

2. Use "NoAI" and "NoIndex" Meta Tags

If you're posting your work on a website, include meta tags to tell scrapers and bots to 'step off':

<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow"><meta name="ai" content="noai">

This isn't enforceable on its own, but it's respected by some developers and gives legal standing if ignored.

3. Use Platforms with AI Opt-Out Tools

Choose platforms that support creators' rights:

ArtStation – "NoAI" tagging

DeviantArt – AI opt-out settings

Pixiv – AI training limitations

Writers – Prefer Substack or Medium, or self-host with opt-out meta tags

4. Watermark Your Work

Add your name, year, and copyright visibly or subtly.

Also consider Glaze or Nightshade tools (below).

5. Use Glaze and Nightshade (Visual Artists)

Glaze: Protects style by confusing AI, without harming human viewing.

Nightshade: Poisons stolen AI datasets with false signals to damage results.

6. Don't Upload High-Res Originals

Limit detail exposure. Only share low-res versions online.

7. Track Your Work with Reverse Search

Google Reverse Image Search

TinEye

Have I Been Trained – See if your art appears in known datasets.

8. Register Your Copyright (U.S. Specific)

In the U.S., you'll need formal registration to sue for damages. It also gives stronger legal leverage.

9. Add a DMCA Agent to Your Website

If you self-host, publish a DMCA contact to issue takedown notices.

10. Stay Informed and Advocate

Support creator-rights orgs like:

Authors Guild

Graphic Artists Guild

Creative Commons

Join or follow the #ProtectHumanArt movement

Feel free to share this with other creators.

Stay vigilant. You deserve to control your work.