AI systems are known to induce non-ideal mental states (e.g., false beliefs) in their users while pursuing their objectives. In contemporary discussions, this phenomenon often gets labelled as ‘AI deception.’ But is AI deception really deception? If it is, then how should we make sense of AI deception qua deception given that the capacities of humans seem to be quite different from that of AI systems? This article surveys the space of theoretical alternatives for answering these questions. It also provides some considerations against adopting revisionary accounts of ‘deception’ (that avoid an appeal to mental states in explaining how AI deception can be a type of ordinary deception) and in doing so, makes a case for the ascription of mental states to AI systems as a more promising theoretical alternative. Finally, the article outlines some directions for future research.