Try it now: AI Metadata Inspector
Free, no login — upload an image and read its embedded metadata in your browser.
What to know
The rich prompt data most AI tools embed lives in PNG-specific text chunks. JPEG and WebP use different metadata containers (EXIF, XMP) and do not carry PNG chunks, so converting a PNG to JPEG or WebP typically drops the prompt entirely.
There are exceptions: some tools deliberately write prompt or provenance data into EXIF/XMP fields that JPEG and WebP can hold, and a few (such as recent Midjourney downloads) use a Description field. So a JPEG is worth checking — but a PNG-chunk prompt does not survive the trip.
How to recover it
- 1
Check the file for surviving EXIF/XMP
Upload the JPEG/WebP to the AI Metadata Inspector; if the tool wrote EXIF or XMP fields, the prompt or provenance may still be present.
- 2
Go back to the PNG if the prompt is gone
If the prompt was a PNG chunk, only the original PNG has it — locate that file rather than the converted copy.
- 3
Keep PNG originals going forward
Preserve the source PNG for anything you may need to reproduce; export JPEG/WebP only as delivery copies.
Keeping the master PNG in a catalog while exporting JPEG/WebP for delivery means format conversion never costs you the prompt.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
Related recovery guides
Never lose a prompt again
Numonic extracts the prompt, model, seed, and settings from every AI image on import and keeps them searchable — so recovery stops being a rescue mission and the prompt is always attached to the work.