Is AI the end for stock companies?

In senior living marketing, stock photos have long been the go-to — fast, inexpensive, and no need to wrangle real residents for a custom shoot. No time-consuming production, and no worries about replacing images when residents move or pass away. But let’s be honest: we’re all using the same smiling seniors on the same park benches.

And now, with Getty and Shutterstock merging? That basically is the stock photo market. One mega-agency, controlling nearly all the visuals we all depend on—and it’s pouring resources into AI-generated images. Shutterstock has its own AI tool. Getty’s got Generative AI. You can now manipulate an image before you even download it.

So what does that mean for us? A tidal wave of AI-generated seniors in spotless kitchens and perfectly diverse friend groups. And soon, they’ll look real enough that most people won’t know—or care—that they’re not.

But here’s the thing: when it comes to senior living, real still matters. Real smiles. Real people. Real connection. People want to see the actual community: the architecture, the dining room, the garden courtyard where they might drink coffee every morning. AI can help with polish, even fill in a few blanks—but it can’t fake the lived-in warmth of your own community.