A recent survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found 44% of them would consider using an AI headshot, and this is reportedly playing out in real life as professionals increasingly opt for the controversial images for LinkedIn or a CV.
There has been an explosion of AI headshot generators, including on Canva, as customers turn to them not just for a cheaper price, but in the hope it gives them an edge on competition.
But the price point is important; one young professional tells CNBC that when she studied at Yale, a 15-minute session with a headshot photographer set her back $200.
“It was really expensive. The process of getting the pictures back, rendering them, looking at which ones I looked the best in, and then sending it back to the photographer for edit,” says Melanie Fan, who now works at an AI-powered shopping platform.
I had AI headshots done of myself last year. The guy on the right has bizarre arms, while the guy on the left looks like my more handsome brother.
Last year I tried out PhotoPacks.AI, a service that costs just $10 and for that the user receives hundreds of AI images. But as I pointed out then, while the images may look a little like me, it’s not exactly how I look.
“It is perceived as risky to use an AI headshot,” Sam DeMase, a ZipRecruiter career expert, tells CNBC. “A poorly done AI-generated headshot is easily recognized, reads as inauthentic, and can hurt the candidate’s chances of being selected.”
However as technology advances, it is getting more and more difficult to definitively tell if an image is AI-generated. And with AI headshots, if you’ve never met the person whose photos you’re looking at, then you have no frame of reference on whether the image is a true representation of them.
CNBC spoke to LinkedIn which says that it does allow AI headshots on the website but with the caveat, “the photo must reflect your likeness.” That feels like a very gray area.
Canva insists that the purpose of its AI headshot generator is not to replace photographers, but to create a “more accessible way to get professional and unique headshots.”
If you’re a headshot photographer who has been affected by the AI headshot market, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch via the tip line.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.