Recommendation SystemVerified
Reviewed and published by trentmaziarz, April 22, 2026. Discovered and drafted by our automated research pipeline.
iStock deployed Enhanced Search, an AI-powered search feature, in March 2024, allowing customers to find stock images, videos, and illustrations using natural, conversational language rather than exact keyword matches. Enhanced Search is turned on by default for all creative searches on istockphoto.com.
Details
Powered by AI and machine learning models, Enhanced Search interprets descriptive, multi-word phrases — such as 'small red cabin on top of a snowy mountain' — to return thousands of relevant results, even when the exact words do not appear in image metadata. The feature is turned on automatically for creative searches and applies across all languages globally. Users can toggle it off to revert to exact keyword matching. The launch was announced jointly for iStock and its parent brand Getty Images on March 13, 2024.
Products affected
iStock Enhanced Searchistockphoto.com
Sources & Evidence
Company Disclosure
Cite this record
Trace Foundation. (2026). iStock : iStock deployed Enhanced Search, an AI-powered search feature, in March 2024, allowing customers to find stock images, videos, and illustrations using natural, conversational language rather than exact keyword matches. Enhanced Search is turned on by default for all creative searches on istockphoto.com (data as of 2026-04-22) [Data set record]. AI Trace. https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/9800703a-5c61-41ac-b8f6-2251aa4568dc. Accessed September 11, 2026.
- Stable link
- https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/9800703a-5c61-41ac-b8f6-2251aa4568dc
- Data as of
- April 22, 2026
- Last verified
- April 22, 2026
Other practices by iStock
ModerationiStock uses a policy — enforced through contributor guidelines and file inspection — to exclude externally AI-generated images from its licensable stock library, while permitting contributors to use AI tools for minor retouching only. The contributor guidelines explicitly bar files created with generative AI tools such as Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Midjourney, or Adobe Firefly.ModerationiStock uses an automated prompt-blocking system within its Generative AI tool to prevent users from generating images of recognizable people, trademarked logos, copyrighted characters, or other legally risky content. The system also enforces a policy against generating photo-realistic depictions of people who are not real.RecommendationiStock offers a reverse image and video search feature that uses AI image recognition to let users upload a reference photo or video clip and find visually similar stock content from iStock's library, without needing to type keywords.
Have evidence about iStock 's AI practices? Submit a report.
Report a Sighting →