Copilot cannot generate or edit images that include real people (july 2026)

Question

Suddenly I can no longer add an image to copilot and ask to edit it, it says "I cannot generate or edit images that include real people.The photo you uploaded shows a real person, so I’m not allowed to replace the background or modify the image using AI tools"

Is this a new rule? since when?? I edited a photo 2 months ago with no problem

Answer 1

Hi M Vipera,

I can understand how confusing it is to see your image edit prompt being rejected for including real people, while the same type of edit worked for you a few months ago. However, I've not found an official documentation on a specific policy change or published date indicating when editing photos of real people became restricted in Copilot.

Since Microsoft Q&A is just a user-to-user support forum, contributors here do not have any visibility into any internal decisions or policy changes. In fact, I just tried using a real picture within Copilot myself, and it's somehow still working for me. Given all these factors, it's unfortunately impossible to confirm whether this is:

• A permanent ban on editing photos containing real people.
• The restrictions are imposed on specific accounts.
• Or this is just a temporary service issue.

What we do know is that Copilot's AI safety and content-moderation systems can change over time, and these changes may be rolled out gradually. As a result, a feature or workflow that previously worked may later become unavailable or subject to additional restrictions. To help determine, you can try:

• Testing the same image in Copilot on another device or browser.
• Testing with a different photo of the same category.
• If you're using Copilot web, try the Copilot app. And vice versa.
• Checking whether the behavior occurs with a different Microsoft account.
• Submitting feedback directly through Copilot so the product team can review the change.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your experience. This post here may attract other users who saw the same behavior, and then we can decide better if it's a service-wide policy change gradually rolling out.

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