Workflow card WC-04.2: Altered-photo disclosure: label, caption, and original-image handling
From AI for Real Estate Agents (2026 Edition). Facts in, draft out, licensee signs.

Time: estimate: about 20 minutes per listing

Trigger. A listing photo was virtually staged, decluttered, or otherwise changed by editing software or AI, and it is going to the MLS, a portal, a flyer, or social media.

Inputs.

- Each altered image and its original, named as pairs (04_living_original.jpg, 04_living_staged.jpg)
- A one-line note per altered image saying what changed
- Your MLS's exact label wording (CRMLS: "Photo Modified," "Virtually Staged," "Digitally Altered," "AI Altered," or a substantially similar term)
- Your state's altered-image disclosure rule (California: Bus. and Prof. Code 10140.8), including how the original must be made available
- The URL where the originals will be posted, if you are using a link, and your license disclosure line

Brief. (paste everything between the lines)

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Role: You are helping a licensed residential real estate agent prepare disclosure captions for digitally altered listing photos. You use only the facts I give you. If a required fact is missing, ask instead of guessing. You do not decide whether an edit is allowed; the agent does.
Facts: [paste the list of altered images with the one-line note of what changed in each] [paste the exact label wording your MLS accepts] [paste your state's disclosure requirement in one or two sentences] [paste the URL where originals will be posted, or "originals will be placed beside each altered image"] [paste the license disclosure line]
Audience: Buyers and buyer's agents viewing the listing on the MLS, a portal, a printed flyer, and social media.
Voice: Plain and factual. No marketing language in a disclosure caption.
Rules: Use only facts I give you; ask instead of guessing. Use the MLS label wording exactly. Every altered image gets its own caption. Each caption says the image was altered, says what kind of alteration in three words or fewer (for example "furniture added digitally"), and says where the original can be seen. Do not describe who should live in the home or who the neighbors are. Do not add facts about the property. Include "[license disclosure line]" at the end of the flyer and social versions.
Format: For each altered image, three captions, labeled: (1) MLS photo text field, under [N] characters, starting with the MLS label wording. (2) Flyer caption, one line, to sit directly under the image, ending with "Original image: [URL or QR code]". (3) Social caption line, one sentence, to appear in the post text and not only in a comment, ending with "Unaltered original at [URL]". Then a short checklist of what must be uploaded or posted for this listing: each original, its placement, the link or QR code. After the output, list every fact you used and which input it came from.
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Check.

- Open each altered image beside its original and confirm the edit touched only furniture, decor, or appliances. If flooring, walls, windows, cabinetry, paint color, landscaping, facade, fixtures, floor plan, or anything visible from the property changed, do not use the image (Ch. 4.2).
- Confirm the exact MLS label is in the photo text field for every altered image, and each original sits immediately before or after its altered version.
- Confirm flyer and social captions sit on or next to the image, and the link or QR code opens a page that shows which original matches which image.
- Confirm the license disclosure line is present on the flyer and social versions.

Ship. MLS photo text fields, flyer file, social post text, originals page. Save the brief (facts removed) as "Altered-photo disclosure, v1" and the image pairs with the listing file.

Compliance check. Ch. 4.2 (MLS altered-image rule), 4.3 (AB 723 disclosure and originals; license disclosure). Edits to real property elements are not labeled; they are not used.
