Best Practices for Using AI-Generated Images on Your Radio Station Website

AI-generated images can be eye-catching, cost-effective, and give your station a fresh and modern look—but they also come with their own set of considerations, from ethical usage to (what’s this?) copyright issues.  But don’t worry, today we’ll give you some best practices to ensure you stay safe and get the most from AI images.

AI is all over the place.  Some are still very apprehensive about jumping on board, while others are fully embracing it.  One of the best and easiest ways to use AI for your website is by generating images.  You no longer have to worry about the image police tracking you down for some image a team member grabbed from a Google search.  And you can’t beat the price.  But there are still some catches.

Let’s discuss the best ways to incorporate AI images into your radio station website while avoiding any mistakes.

What Are AI-Generated Images?

Before we jump in, let’s quickly define what we mean by AI-generated images:

  • These are images created by artificial intelligence tools like DALL·E, Midjourney, Leonardo, Flux, Stable Diffusion, or Adobe Firefly.  There are many more.  These are just the top of the list.
  • They’re trained on vast amounts of images, which they use to generate new creations based on your prompts.

Why should you care about AI images? 

  • A radio station’s website should stand out in a crowded market. Compelling images grab attention and help brand your station.  If you filled your homepage with just text, it wouldn’t look interesting or engaging. Numerous studies show that images get more clicks than text alone.
  • AI images let you get creative without signing up for expensive stock image services or hiring a full-time graphic designer or photographer for every little image need.

As with any new technology, there are best practices to ensure you’re using these images ethically and effectively.  Here are the top best practices.

1. Check Licensing and Usage Rights

First and foremost, always review the terms of service of the platform you’re using. If someone on your team has started using AI images on your website, ensure they have read the fine print.  Different AI tools have different rules:

  • Some allow full commercial usage without attribution.
  • Others may require you to label the images or only use them in non-commercial settings like your personal blog, which you don’t make money with.

This step is crucial because AI systems sometimes incorporate copyrighted elements from the data they’ve been trained on. If your prompt references famous brands or pop culture characters, you could accidentally infringe on someone’s intellectual property. When in doubt, consult the tool’s usage guidelines or legal counsel to make sure you’re safe.  It’s a good idea to never (ever) use a famous person’s likeness in an AI-generated image.

2. Watch Out for AI Quirks and Imperfections

If you’ve ever spent time generating AI images, you know they can sometimes include quirky or downright odd details:

  • Extra limbs or fingers when generating people.
  • Text that looks gibberish or misspelled.
  • Perspective or lighting that doesn’t quite make sense.

The solution? 

  • Always double-check each image for imperfections before posting them.
  • If possible, edit or refine them with traditional graphic design tools for a polished final look.
  • Keep your station’s brand identity in mind: color schemes, logos, fonts—any design element that ties the image to your station’s format or feel.

3. Be Transparent: Disclose AI Usage

Transparency matters in building trust with your audience. If the image is 100% AI-generated, consider adding a short note on your website—maybe in the photo credit section or somewhere unobtrusive—stating something like: “Created using [Name of AI Tool].”

Why bother? 

  • Honesty fosters a more authentic connection with your audience.
  • It also protects you from potential backlash if someone notices something off about the image and calls it out.
  • This is especially important if the image could be mistaken for a real photograph.

Pro Tip: Always name the source (or tool) in the caption meta of every image.  This lets the audience know where the image came from and reminds you where you sourced the image much later if there’s ever any question about its creation.

4. Avoid Misrepresentation

Be cautious about using AI images to represent real people or events. If you want to illustrate, say, a behind-the-scenes of your on-air talent, don’t use an AI-generated person and pass them off as your actual DJ. It’s easy for confusion to spread, especially on social media.

If you must use a fictional representation, label it clearly—something like: “Artistic rendering, not an actual photograph.”  Your website visitors will appreciate the clarity and honesty.

5. Pay Attention to Bias and Inclusivity

AI models can unintentionally reflect biases that are present in their training data. This means they might generate stereotypical or exclusionary images based on race, gender, or other factors. Here’s how to navigate that:

  • Experiment with prompts to see if the results are inclusive and reflective of your station’s diverse audience.
  • If you notice biased output, try prompt engineering (for example, specifying diversity: “Create an image of people of various ages and backgrounds celebrating at a local community event”).
  • Always review final images for any unintentional stereotypes or misrepresentations.

6. Optimize for Web Performance

Big, high-resolution images might look stunning, but they can also slow down your website, leading to lower engagement and a higher bounce rate. A few tips:

  • Compress images to reduce file size. There are plenty of free online tools to help with this.
  • Choose the right format (JPEG for complex scenes and WebP for images with transparency).  Be mindful that PNG files are typically larger file size than JPG and JPGs are bigger file sizes than WebP.  So, use WebP whenever possible.  A good tool to bookmark and use is https://cloudconvert.com/png-to-webp.
  • Add alt text for each image, both for SEO and accessibility for visually impaired users.

7. Establish Clear Internal Guidelines

If you have multiple team members working on your website, set up some internal guidelines around AI image usage:

  • Prompts: Provide standardized prompt structures so images align with your brand identity.
  • Approval Process: Encourage staff to get a second opinion or have a designated brand manager or news director sign off on images before they go live.
  • Ethical Standards: Lay out clearly that you won’t generate images depicting harmful or offensive material that goes against your station’s values.

All you need is a short and sweet guideline doc to help maintain consistency and keep everyone on the same page.

Real-world applications for AI-generated images

Let’s quickly brainstorm some ways you could use AI images on your radio station website:

  1. News/Blog Post Images: Every article you post on your website should have an image attached. Give each post a distinct look that’s still on-brand.
  2. Hero Banners: Create unique background images for your homepage or upcoming special event. Think of a concert crowd or a sunny day at the park.
  3. Social Media Teasers: Whip up fun, shareable visuals for contests or promotions.

These are just a few – the possibilities are practically endless, provided you follow the guidelines we’ve discussed.

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Using AI-generated images on your radio station website can be a fantastic way to stand out, save costs, and spark creativity—but it does require some careful oversight. Don’t just go out, grab an image and add it to your site.

  1. Check the Terms of Use for whatever AI tool you’re using to avoid legal issues.
  2. Watch out for imperfections and edit images before posting.
  3. Disclose AI usage to maintain trust and transparency.
  4. Steer clear of misleading imagery—clearly mark that they are not real photos.
  5. Be mindful of bias and aim for inclusive visuals that reflect your diverse audience.
  6. Optimize images for fast-loading, accessible web pages.
  7. Create internal policies so your entire team is aligned.

If you keep these best practices in mind, you’ll be well on your way to incorporating AI art that enhances your brand and resonates with your audience—rather than causing confusion or controversy.

Be sure to check out our AI Content Helper Pro.  Everything I’ve mentioned in this post is already included in this tool.  The AI image generation is copyright-free, approved for commercial use, resized to consistent dimensions, tagged properly within the meta, and optimized for the WebP image format.  And it’s all within your WordPress website dashboard.  There’s no copy-pasting, resizing, etc.  The tool also helps you write AI-generated news and blog articles and can even generate posts automatically on a schedule.  It’s truly game-changing, but you must be a Skyrocket Radio website affiliate to take advantage of it.

If you would like more details on our AI Content Helper Pro or how our amazing websites can elevate your radio station this year, reach out to us.

We want to help your radio station grow and succeed online.  That journey starts with an amazing website that keeps visitors coming back often.  Reach out to us to start your path to online success, or schedule an appointment to see our tools in action.

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