How are you all handling AI-generated textures for 3D models and game assets without losing the hand-made feel?

I've been doing a small stylized environment project (a mossy ruined chapel, low-poly-ish, meant for a Unity scene) and I hit the classic texturing wall: modeling went fast, but painting every stone, plank and roof tile by hand was eating whole weekends. So I started experimenting with an ai texture generator workflow and I have mixed feelings I'd love to discuss with other artists here.

What has worked for me so far:
1. Using my own concept sketch or a photo I took as the reference image, instead of a pure text prompt. The results stay much closer to my palette and brush style.
2. Generating at a larger size and then checking tileability by offsetting the image 50% in Krita/Photoshop. Almost every output needs a little clone-stamp cleanup at the seams.
3. Treating the result as a base color (albedo) only, then building roughness, normal and AO maps separately. AI outputs often "bake in" lighting and shadows, which looks wrong once the engine lights the model again.
4. Painting over the final 20%. A few hand strokes on edges and worn corners make it read as mine instead of generic.

The tool I tested most was this ai texture generator: https://imgtoimg-ai.com/usecase/ai-texture-generator

I picked it mainly because it does image-to-image, so I could feed in my own sketch.

Where I'm still stuck, and where I'd really like opinions:
- How do you remove baked-in highlights so the albedo is truly flat? Do you desaturate/level the shadows, or regenerate with a different prompt?
- For stylized (hand-painted, Ghibli/WoW-like) work versus realistic PBR, do you think AI textures help more in one style than the other?
- Texel density: do you generate one big sheet per material, or small tiles and use trim sheets?
- Ethically and for portfolios, do you disclose that a texture started from AI? I've been noting it in my breakdowns, but I'm curious what art teachers or studios here expect.

If anyone wants, I can share a before/after of the chapel walls once I fix the seams. Thanks for any tips, and I'm happy to answer questions about the parts of the workflow that did work.

Question

How are you all handling AI-generated textures for 3D models and game assets without losing the hand-made feel?

I've been doing a small stylized environment project (a mossy ruined chapel, low-poly-ish, meant for a Unity scene) and I hit the classic texturing wall: modeling went fast, but painting every stone, plank and roof tile by hand was eating whole weekends. So I started experimenting with an ai texture generator workflow and I have mixed feelings I'd love to discuss with other artists here.

What has worked for me so far:
1. Using my own concept sketch or a photo I took as the reference image, instead of a pure text prompt. The results stay much closer to my palette and brush style.
2. Generating at a larger size and then checking tileability by offsetting the image 50% in Krita/Photoshop. Almost every output needs a little clone-stamp cleanup at the seams.
3. Treating the result as a base color (albedo) only, then building roughness, normal and AO maps separately. AI outputs often "bake in" lighting and shadows, which looks wrong once the engine lights the model again.
4. Painting over the final 20%. A few hand strokes on edges and worn corners make it read as mine instead of generic.

The tool I tested most was this ai texture generator: https://imgtoimg-ai.com/usecase/ai-texture-generator

I picked it mainly because it does image-to-image, so I could feed in my own sketch.

Where I'm still stuck, and where I'd really like opinions:
- How do you remove baked-in highlights so the albedo is truly flat? Do you desaturate/level the shadows, or regenerate with a different prompt?
- For stylized (hand-painted, Ghibli/WoW-like) work versus realistic PBR, do you think AI textures help more in one style than the other?
- Texel density: do you generate one big sheet per material, or small tiles and use trim sheets?
- Ethically and for portfolios, do you disclose that a texture started from AI? I've been noting it in my breakdowns, but I'm curious what art teachers or studios here expect.

If anyone wants, I can share a before/after of the chapel walls once I fix the seams. Thanks for any tips, and I'm happy to answer questions about the parts of the workflow that did work.