Free AI spotting game

AI or Real? Game

AI or Real? is a free 10-round game that tests whether you can tell AI-generated photos and writing from work made by people. Guess each one, then see the answer, its source and the clue that gives it away, drawn from 12 images and 10 passages.

Play AI or Real?

Ten rounds. Each shows a photo or a short passage, and you decide whether a person or an AI made it. Half are AI. After every guess you see the answer, the source and the clue to look for.

How to spot AI images and text

Images

  • Light and composition that look too perfect
  • Signs or text that are invented, garbled or repeated
  • Fur, food or skin with no mess, dust or snow on it
  • Hands, reflections and backgrounds that do not add up

Text

  • Stock phrases like "hidden gem" or "game-changer"
  • Lists of three and balanced pros and cons
  • A tidy aphorism wrapping up the ending
  • No names, dates, prices or odd personal details

These are hints, not proof: people take perfect photos and write tidy sentences too. To check a real file, use the AI Image Detector, which reads Content Credentials and metadata.

How to play

  1. Step 1

    Pick what to play

    Choose images and text, images only or text only, then press Start.

  2. Step 2

    Guess AI or human

    Look closely at each photo or passage and pick AI-generated or Made by a human.

  3. Step 3

    Learn the clue

    See the answer, the source or prompt, and the detail that gives it away.

  4. Step 4

    Share your score

    After 10 rounds, copy your score and challenge a friend, or play again.

Frequently asked questions

What is the AI or Real game?

AI or Real? is a free guessing game. Each of its 10 rounds shows a photo or a short passage, and you decide whether a person or an AI made it. Half of every game is AI. After each guess you see the answer, where the item came from and the clue that gives it away.

How can you tell if an image is AI-generated?

Look for scenes that are too perfect: flawless golden light, every element in its ideal place, spotless fur or food, and poster-like colors. Read any text or signs, since AI often invents or repeats them, and check hands, reflections and backgrounds. For a specific file, check its Content Credentials and metadata, and run a reverse image search.

How can you tell if text was written by AI?

AI text leans on stock phrases ("nestled in the heart of", "game-changer"), neat lists of three, balanced pros and cons, and a tidy closing line, with few names, dates or odd details. None of these is proof, and AI text detectors are unreliable, so treat them as reasons to check, not verdicts.

Where do the images and texts come from?

Human items are real photos from Wikimedia Commons by named photographers (CC0, public domain or CC BY-SA) and passages from public-domain books by Thoreau, Melville, Dickens, Stevenson and Darwin. AI images were generated for this game with the image tool in Google's Antigravity agent, and AI passages were written by Claude Opus 5.5. Each reveal shows the source or the exact prompt.

Can I use the AI or Real game in a classroom?

Yes. It is free with no signup, works on phones and Chromebooks, and the answer key below lists every item with its answer, clue and source. Open it and press Print answer key for a handout, or play as a class and discuss each clue.

Answer key for teachers

Every item in the game with its answer, clue and source, ready to print for a media-literacy lesson. Spoiler warning: open it after you play. Content checked Nov 14, 2026.

Show the answer key for all 22 items

  1. Image P01: Made by a human

    Black-and-white portrait of an older bearded man smoking a long pipe

    Real. Uneven light on the hand and pipe, stray beard hairs and a pose nobody idealized. A black-and-white edit is a common choice for real street portraits.

    Photo by ThuyHaBich, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons.

  2. Image P02: AI-generated

    A red fox sitting in a snowy meadow with trees behind it

    Snow is falling, yet the fur is perfectly clean and groomed with nothing stuck to it. The pose is a centered calendar shot, and the image matches the prompt word for word.

    AI-generated for AI Wins on Nov 14, 2026 with the image tool in Google's Antigravity agent (Gemini 3.8 Flash).

  3. Image P03: Made by a human

    A bowl of knotted cardamom buns on a red and white checked cloth

    Real. The buns differ in size and shape, the cloth is creased, and one bun sits outside the bowl. AI food shots tend to be more symmetrical and glossier.

    Photo by W.carter, Sweden, 2017, via Wikimedia Commons.

  4. Image P04: AI-generated

    A mountain lake reflecting peaks under a colorful sky, with pine trees on the shore

    The sun sits exactly in the notch between two peaks, the mist, trees and reflection are all perfect at once, and the colors look like a poster. Real scenes rarely line up every element this neatly.

    AI-generated for AI Wins on Nov 14, 2026 with the image tool in Google's Antigravity agent (Gemini 3.8 Flash).

  5. Image P05: AI-generated

    Portrait of an older man in a knitted cap standing on a harbor dock

    A hard one: skin, stubble and wool all look real now. The hints are flawless golden-hour light, a generic harbor blurred into boat shapes, and a scene that is the prompt exactly.

    AI-generated for AI Wins on Nov 14, 2026 with the image tool in Google's Antigravity agent (Gemini 3.8 Flash).

  6. Image P06: Made by a human

    Close-up of a honey bee on a purple flower with a yellow center

    Real. Pollen grains stuck in the hairs, ragged petal tips and the tongue actually reaching into the flower are the messy details real macro shots have.

    Photo by John Severns, via Wikimedia Commons.

  7. Image P07: AI-generated

    Overhead view of a bowl of ramen with egg, pork and scallions on a wooden table

    Every topping sits in its ideal spot, the chashu swirls are near copies of each other and there is not a single drip on the bowl rim. Real food photos usually show a smear or an uneven pour.

    AI-generated for AI Wins on Nov 14, 2026 with the image tool in Google's Antigravity agent (Gemini 3.8 Flash).

  8. Image P08: Made by a human

    A person with a clear umbrella walking down a wet city street at night

    Real. The signs carry ordinary shop text, there are only a few of them, and every reflection on the pavement matches a light above it.

    Photo by Romain Guy, Tokyo, 2019, via Wikimedia Commons.

  9. Image P09: AI-generated

    Close-up of a honey bee on lavender flowers

    Every lavender bud is equally jeweled with dew, and the bee is perfectly posed and sharp from head to tail, which is hard to get at real macro distances.

    AI-generated for AI Wins on Nov 14, 2026 with the image tool in Google's Antigravity agent (Gemini 3.8 Flash).

  10. Image P10: Made by a human

    A red fox in deep snow with its mouth wide open

    Real. An awkward mid-yawn face with snow caked on the fur is the kind of unflattering moment AI images rarely pick.

    Photo by Alberto Peracchio, Gran Paradiso National Park, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons.

  11. Image P11: AI-generated

    A person with a clear umbrella walking down a rainy alley full of neon signs

    Read the signs: an English "NEON NIGHTS" sign appears twice, and the alley holds far more glowing signs than a real one. The teal and pink grade looks like a movie poster.

    AI-generated for AI Wins on Nov 14, 2026 with the image tool in Google's Antigravity agent (Gemini 3.8 Flash).

  12. Image P12: Made by a human

    A calm lake reflecting snowy mountains under a blue sky

    Real. Flat daylight, ordinary clouds and a plain composition. Real landscapes are often less dramatic than AI ones.

    Photo by Glacier National Park (US National Park Service), 2015, via Wikimedia Commons.

  13. Text T01: Made by a human

    I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

    One long, winding sentence with an unusual verb ("to front" the facts) and a personal turn at the end. Models write smoother, more predictable sentences.

    Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854).

  14. Text T02: Made by a human

    Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.

    The dry aside "never mind how long precisely" gives a distinct narrator's voice. AI text is rarely this digressive or this offhand.

    Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851).

  15. Text T03: Made by a human

    Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city.

    Repetition used as a drumbeat, rare words like "aits" (river islands) and a sly "(and dirty)" aside. Those choices are specific and risky in a way generated text usually is not.

    Charles Dickens, Bleak House (1853).

  16. Text T04: Made by a human

    For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.

    It reads like a quote poster, which is why it fools people. When a line feels too neat, search it in quotes: this one is from an 1879 travel book.

    Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879).

  17. Text T05: Made by a human

    There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

    One huge sentence held together with semicolons and nested clauses, plus period words like "whilst". Models can imitate it when asked, but rarely write like this on their own.

    Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (1859).

  18. Text T06: AI-generated

    Nestled in the heart of the Dolomites, this charming village is a hidden gem that offers something for everyone. Whether you're an avid hiker, a foodie, or simply looking to unwind, you'll find breathtaking views, rich culinary traditions, and warm hospitality around every corner.

    Stock phrases ("nestled in the heart of", "hidden gem", "something for everyone"), a "whether you're... or..." opener and neat lists of three, with no name, price or moment.

    Written by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) for this game on Nov 14, 2026.

  19. Text T07: AI-generated

    I got rejected from 47 jobs last year. Here's what it taught me: Rejection isn't failure. It's redirection. Every "no" brought me closer to the right "yes." Stay curious. Stay humble. Keep showing up.

    The engagement-post template: a number hook, "Here's what it taught me", an "isn't X, it's Y" flip and a three-part motto. People write these too, so the template is the tell, not proof.

    Written by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) for this game on Nov 14, 2026.

  20. Text T08: AI-generated

    I walked out before dawn, when the pond still held the night in its lap, and stood a long while listening to the ice settle. A man may own a great many things and still not possess a single quiet hour; I had come to the water to buy one back.

    A hard one. It is polished but names no place, date or person, and it ends on a tidy aphorism that wraps everything up. Real 19th-century essays wander more.

    Written by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) for this game on Nov 14, 2026.

  21. Text T09: AI-generated

    I've been using this burr grinder every morning for about three weeks now, and honestly, it's been a game-changer. The grind consistency is excellent across all settings, it's surprisingly quiet, and cleanup takes less than a minute. My only minor gripe is that the hopper is a bit small, but overall, I'd highly recommend it to any coffee lover.

    "Game-changer", three tidy pros, exactly one "minor gripe" and a "highly recommend" wrap-up. Real reviews name the model and mention odd specifics.

    Written by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) for this game on Nov 14, 2026.

  22. Text T10: AI-generated

    Autumn leaves drift down, each one a small letter sent to the waiting ground.

    Short poems are close to impossible to call. This one picks the safest image and a neat metaphor with no surprise; that safeness is the only hint.

    Written by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) for this game on Nov 14, 2026.

Related AI tools

AI Image Detector

Check a real file for Content Credentials, metadata and edits.

Open tool

AI Literacy Quiz

Test how well you understand what AI can and can't do.

Open tool

AI Humanizer

Make AI-assisted drafts read more naturally.

Open tool

Gemini AI Photo Prompts

Prompts that turn your own photo into AI art.

Open tool

AI keeps getting better at this. Follow the good news about what it can do in the free daily AI Wins digest.

Get the free digest

Get the free AI Wins digest

Only positive AI stories, delivered daily or weekly. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.