99designs offers clients the option to allow freelance designers to use third-party generative AI tools when submitting designs in eligible contest categories, with disclosure required from designers at submission. Clients choose whether to permit AI-assisted work when writing their contest brief, and generative AI is banned outright in certain categories such as logo, illustration, and button and icon design.

When a client opts in, designers may incorporate outputs from external generative AI tools (such as image generators) as part of their creative work, but must still meet 99designs' originality and quality standards. Designers are required to disclose the specific AI tool used in their submission, and 99designs treats all AI-generated content as third-party material. The opt-in/opt-out mechanism is built into the brief creation workflow for contests and handled via a written agreement in 1-to-1 projects. Generative AI is not permitted in logo, illustration, or button and icon design categories regardless of client preference.