"Can you put our founder in the video?" "Can you make someone who looks like a certain star?" Both come up often in AI video production. The answer involves two things: whether it can be done technically, and whether it may be used that way. What follows is general information, not legal advice; for a specific case, consult a qualified lawyer.
Technically: AI struggles to reproduce one specific person
Current image generation is good at a described character, "a man of about thirty in a suit", and poor at "this exact person". Even with photos supplied, the result is often close but not him, and the face may differ from shot to shot. To viewers who know the person, nearly right is more unsettling than plainly different. See consistency limits in AI video.
So where a particular real person has to appear accurately, we recommend filmed footage over generation.
Permission: a likeness needs the person's consent
The general principle is that using someone's face and voice needs their consent, all the more for commercial use. Generating it with AI doesn't change that. Common cases:
- Founders and staff: consent is needed. Get it in writing, with the purpose and period of use. Settle in advance whether the video may still be used after an employee leaves.
- Endorsers and creators you work with: the contract governs. If it says nothing about AI generation, ask them; don't assume.
- Celebrities and public figures: creating a lookalike to promote a product without permission is high risk. We don't take this on.
- Relatives who have died: for a private family tribute, make sure the family is comfortable first. People feel very differently about this.
What we don't do
- Generate a real person's likeness without that person's permission.
- Make a real person appear to say things they never said, in a way viewers would take as real.
- Imitate a specific celebrity's face or voice for commercial promotion.
These limits protect you as well as the person whose likeness is involved.
Safer ways to include a real person
- Film the person, generate the rest. A thirty-second statement recorded on a phone, with AI scenes around it, cut together.
- Use photos as they are. Place real photos in the video with text and motion, with no AI changes to the face.
- Use a fictional character. An AI-generated person who doesn't exist, standing in for "a customer" or "a colleague". This is the most common and least contentious use.
- No faces. Hands, backs, product close-ups, with a voice-over carrying the message.
For mixing real material with AI shots, see using real products and logos in AI video.
Do AI-generated people need a label?
When the people in a video are generated, some platforms require a label for AI-generated or altered content, particularly realistic footage. The rules change, so check each platform's current policy; see labelling AI-generated video.
FAQ
I consent. Can you generate video from my own photos?
We can discuss it. Please understand the result may not look exactly like you; whether to use it is decided after seeing the generated frames.
What if a fictional AI character happens to resemble a real person?
It's unlikely but possible. If a frame worries you, raise it at the storyboard stage.
Can AI imitate a particular person's voice for the narration?
As with a face, that needs the person's permission. We don't imitate voices without it. See voice-over and subtitles in AI video.
