How Pinterest applies the AI label to a generated image Pin

Pinterest puts an AI label on the close-up of an image Pin in two ways: the content owner says the image was modified or generated with AI, or Pinterest's detection systems decide it may have been. If you publish images made with the Sume Image API, you can trigger the label by declaring it, and Pinterest can also add it on its own. The Help Center page points to a separate article for the appeals process and gives no steps itself.

The two routes to a label

Both routes come from Pinterest's "AI at Pinterest" page.

What else the page says

• Detection follows the IPTC Photo Metadata Standard (covered in the companion post on metadata).
• People can choose to see fewer AI Pins by category.
• Appeals: the page refers readers to a separate Help Center article on Gen AI labels and the appeals process. The steps are not on this page, so check that article before promising a client a removal.
• Pinterest's policy page lists updates effective November 12, 2026, including a new "GenAI Acceptable Use Guidelines" document. The page gives no specifics.

Working with Sume images

The Image API generates images from text and reference images. Its docs describe model discovery, parameters and prices; they do not describe any label or metadata step for Pinterest. So the declaration is a choice you make when you publish.

A simple policy for a Sume-generated Pin: declare it when the image is generated or substantially AI-modified, rather than waiting for detection to do it. A label you applied yourself is a decision. A label Pinterest applied after the fact can come as a surprise to a client who expected a clean Pin.

If a label lands on a Pin you think is wrong, use the appeals article the page points to. Keep the original prompt, model name and generation date in your own records so you can describe how the image was made.