AI likeness rights are a person's legal control over how their face, body and voice are copied and used, including by AI. In the US they come mainly from state right-of-publicity laws, now extended to AI by laws like Tennessee's ELVIS Act and California's AB 2602; a federal NO FAKES Act is still a bill. Anyone whose likeness feeds your AI persona (a model, a voice donor, even you as a twin operated by someone else) should sign a written release with specific uses, training rights, term, payment and revocation terms.
AI likeness rights are the legal control a person has over how their face, body and voice are used, and in the US they are mostly set by state law: if a real person's likeness goes into your AI content, you need their written consent, with the uses spelled out. A handful of laws passed between 2024 and 2026 now name AI copies, or "digital replicas", directly, and they reward specific, scoped releases over vague catch-all ones.
Checked October 2026 against California Labor Code 927 (AB 2602), S. 1367, NO FAKES Act of 2025, S. 146, TAKE IT DOWN Act, EU AI Act Article 50 and New York S.8420-A. This is general information, not legal advice; laws differ by state and country, so have a lawyer review any release you rely on.
This page is the consent-and-contracts part of our AI influencer legal and ethics guide, which also covers FTC disclosure and platform rules. Here we focus on one question: whose likeness is in your content, and what paperwork protects them and you.
What likeness rights cover
The right of publicity is the right to control commercial use of your identity. Most US states recognise it, either by statute (California Civil Code 3344, New York Civil Rights Law 50 and 51) or by court decisions. It is separate from copyright. A photographer can own the copyright in a photo of you while you still control whether that photo sells a product.
Traditionally, "likeness" meant your name, photograph and recognisable image. AI stretched that in two directions. First, a model can generate a new image of you that no camera ever took, so laws now speak of "digital replicas" and "simulations". Second, a voice clone can say things you never said, so voice is increasingly listed alongside image. Tennessee's ELVIS Act, in force since July 1, 2024, defines voice to include a simulation that is readily identifiable as a particular person.
For an AI creator, this means three different things are worth keeping apart:
- The source likeness: real photos, video or audio of a person you use as training data or reference.
- The trained asset: a LoRA, a face embedding or a voice model that can reproduce that person on demand.
- The output: the posts, ads and videos the asset produces.
A good release covers all three. A standard photo model release usually covers only the first and the last, and says nothing about the trained file sitting on your drive.
The laws that matter in 2026
There is no single AI likeness law. There is a patchwork, and the pieces most relevant to AI creators are below.
| Law | Where | What it does | Status (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right of publicity (state law) | Most US states | Commercial use of name, image or likeness without consent | In force (varies by state) |
| ELVIS Act | Tennessee | Adds voice and simulated voice or likeness; covers tools whose primary purpose is replicating a person | In force since July 1, 2024 |
| AB 2602 (Labor Code 927) | California | Digital replica clauses in service contracts unenforceable without specific uses, counsel or union cover | In force since Jan 1, 2025 |
| AB 1836 | California | Digital replicas of deceased personalities in commercial works | In force since Jan 1, 2025 |
| Synthetic performer ads law (S.8420-A) | New York | Ads using a synthetic performer must disclose it conspicuously | In force since June 9, 2026 |
| TAKE IT DOWN Act | US federal | Crime to publish non-consensual intimate images, including AI ones; 48-hour platform takedown | Criminal: May 2025; platform duties: May 19, 2026 |
| NO FAKES Act (S. 1367 / H.R. 2794) | US federal | Proposed federal right over digital replicas of voice and likeness | Bill, in committee |
| AI Act Article 50 | European Union | Deployers must disclose deepfakes of people, objects or events | Applies from Aug 2, 2026 |
A few details are worth knowing. California's AB 2602 added Section 927 to the Labor Code. It makes a contract provision unenforceable for new performances fixed on or after January 1, 2025, when the provision lets a digital replica of someone's voice or likeness replace work they would have done in person and does not include a reasonably specific description of the intended uses, unless the person had a lawyer negotiate it or a union agreement covers it. That is a direct hit on the "all uses in all media now known or later devised" wording many releases still use.
New York's synthetic performer law requires advertisements that use an AI-generated performer to disclose it conspicuously, with civil penalties of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for later ones. If you run AI influencer content as paid ads aimed at New York, that disclosure duty applies to the ad itself.
In Europe, Article 50 of the AI Act requires deployers who publish deepfakes (realistic AI content that resembles real people, places or events) to disclose that the content is artificially generated or manipulated, from August 2, 2026. Denmark has also proposed amending its Copyright Act to protect people against realistic digital imitations of their appearance and voice; check its current status before relying on it.
Who needs to sign a release
Most AI influencer projects involve more real people than their creators notice. Walk through every input that came from a human:
- 01Reference model
A paid or volunteer model whose photos train a LoRA or guide a face
- 02Voice donor
Audio recorded to clone a voice for videos and reels
- 03Body or motion double
Video used for pose, motion transfer or face-swap base footage
- 04You as a twin
Your own face, run by a VA, agency or partner
- 05Trained asset
LoRA, embedding or voice model that can reproduce the person
- 06Published content
Posts, ads, brand deals and paid products
Models. If a person's photos train the face of your persona, the persona carries their likeness. Even if you change hairstyles and outfits, a recognisable face is still theirs. They need to agree specifically to training and to the commercial uses you plan.
Voice actors and donors. A cloned voice is covered by the ELVIS Act in Tennessee and by right-of-publicity law in several other states. Voice platforms also make consent a condition of use: ElevenLabs, for example, asks you to confirm you have the rights to any voice you clone. Our ElevenLabs voice cloning tutorial walks through the platform side.
Yourself as a twin. Your own face is yours, but two things trip people up. An existing agency, modelling or brand contract may already license your image, and a new AI twin can clash with it. And if a partner, editor or agency operates the twin, they need a written licence from you that limits what the twin can say and sell, and ends cleanly if you part ways.
Fully synthetic faces. A persona invented from scratch, not trained on or prompted toward a real person, does not need a likeness release. The risk comes back if the result strongly resembles someone recognisable, or if you prompt with a celebrity name. Keep notes of how the face was created; it is useful evidence that the persona is original.
The six clauses an AI likeness release needs
A standard model release was written for cameras. An AI release needs to cover training and replicas as well. These are the six clauses that do the work:
| Clause | What it says | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Parties and identity | Who grants rights, who receives them, and which likeness (face, body, voice) is covered | Vague parties make the release hard to enforce |
| 2. Specific uses | Platforms, formats, organic vs paid ads, brands the persona may promote | California AB 2602 targets releases without a reasonably specific description |
| 3. Training rights | Whether photos or audio may train a model (LoRA, voice clone), and who owns the trained file | A photo release alone does not clearly cover training |
| 4. Term and territory | How long the rights last and where; what happens to content and model files at the end | Perpetual worldwide grants are what people regret signing |
| 5. Payment | Flat fee, per-use fee or revenue share, and when it is paid | Consideration supports the contract and avoids later disputes |
| 6. Revocation, disclosure and limits | How consent is withdrawn, who labels AI content, and banned uses (adult, political, defamatory) | Limits protect the person; disclosure duties protect you under platform rules |
A few drafting notes on the riskier clauses:
Training rights. Say plainly that the material may be used to train a model that can generate new images or audio of the person, name the kind of model if you can, and say who owns the trained file. Add what happens to that file at the end of the term: deleted, archived, or kept only for content already published.
Specific uses. List platforms and formats. Say whether paid ads are included, whether the persona can endorse third-party brands, and whether any categories are off limits. The more specific the list, the more likely the clause holds up under laws like AB 2602, and the fewer arguments you have later.
Revocation. Decide how consent can be withdrawn: with notice, after a minimum period, or only for future content. Content already published under a valid licence is usually treated differently from new content, and the release should say so.
Disclosure. Make it someone's job to apply AI labels where platforms or laws require them, and to make the paid-partnership disclosure the FTC expects when the persona promotes a brand. Our Instagram AI label rules page covers what Meta expects.
- Uses listed by platform and format, including whether paid ads are in scope
- Training on their material named explicitly, with ownership of the trained file
- A fixed term and territory, not "perpetual and worldwide" by default
- Payment terms in writing, even for a friend or a small project
- A revocation process and what happens to published content
- Banned uses: sexual content, political ads, defamatory or deceptive claims
- Who applies AI labels and paid-partnership disclosures
- Signed and dated by an adult; keep the ID check and the signed copy
- A lawyer review if the person is a professional performer or a minor is involved
A consent process that holds up
Paperwork matters, but so does the way you get it. Consent that is informed and documented is much harder to dispute than a checkbox.
- 1Explain the project in plain words
Show example outputs and say what an AI version of them can and cannot do once trained.
- 2Agree the scope before the shoot
Platforms, ad use, brands, banned categories, term and payment, agreed before any photos are taken.
- 3Sign a written release
With the six clauses. Give them a copy and time to read it or ask a lawyer.
- 4Verify age and identity
Adults only. Keep a record of the check stored securely and separately from the content.
- 5Log the trained assets
Note which files came from which person, so you can delete them when the term ends.
- 6Review at renewal
At the end of the term, renew in writing, or retire the persona and delete the model files.
If you are paying a model, the release and the payment should match. Paying a one-off shoot fee for a perpetual licence to a trained replica that may earn for years is the kind of imbalance that leads to disputes, and that laws like AB 2602 were written to address.
Protecting your own face and voice
Likeness rights work in both directions. If you are a creator with a public face, someone else may build a persona on it. A few steps help:
- Read contracts for replica language. Look for "digital replica", "simulation", "synthetic" or "any technology now known or later devised". Ask for specific uses, a term and a fee for any AI use.
- Use platform reporting. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube all have impersonation and privacy reporting forms. YouTube lets people request removal of AI content that simulates their face or voice through its privacy process.
- Know the intimate-image route. Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, covered platforms must remove non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated ones, within 48 hours of a valid request. Platform obligations became enforceable on May 19, 2026, with the FTC enforcing.
- Keep evidence. Screenshots, URLs, dates and any payment pages. A lawyer will ask for them.
The same applies to face-swapping. Swapping a real person's face into content without their consent can break platform rules, publicity law and, for intimate content, criminal law. Our AI face swap guide covers the consent-based uses that are fine.
Building an AI persona the right way
The simplest way to avoid most likeness problems is to build an original persona: a face generated from scratch, documented, and not prompted toward anyone real. Where you do use real people, pay them, scope the licence and keep the paperwork. That approach is slower on day one and much cheaper than a takedown, a dispute or a lost brand deal later. Brands increasingly ask for this paperwork before they sign, especially for paid ads.
Our AI Influencers program builds personas this way: original faces, consistent characters, clear disclosure and brand-ready documentation. The free AI Influencer Prompt Generator helps you design an original face from attributes rather than from a real person's photos.
AI likeness rights: FAQ
Do I need permission to make an AI version of a real person?
For anything commercial, yes. Most US states recognise a right of publicity that lets a person stop the commercial use of their name, image, likeness and, in a growing number of states, voice. Tennessee's ELVIS Act names simulated voices and likenesses directly. Outside commerce, other laws apply: non-consensual intimate deepfakes are a federal crime under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, and platforms ban impersonation. Get written consent before you train on or publish anyone's face.
What should an AI likeness release include?
At minimum: who is granting rights and to whom, a reasonably specific description of the intended uses, whether the material may be used to train a model, the term and territory, the payment, how and when consent can be withdrawn, and who is responsible for disclosure labels. California's AB 2602 makes some digital replica clauses unenforceable when they lack a reasonably specific description of intended uses, so vague catch-all wording is a risk.
Is the NO FAKES Act law?
Not as of October 2026. The NO FAKES Act of 2025 was introduced in the Senate (S. 1367) and House (H.R. 2794) on April 9, 2025, and both were referred to the Judiciary Committees. It would create a federal right over digital replicas of a person's voice and visual likeness. Until it passes, likeness rights in the US come mainly from state law.
Can I use my own face to build an AI twin?
Yes, your own likeness is yours to use. The practical issues are contracts and platforms: an agency, brand or management deal you signed may already grant someone rights over your image, and platforms still expect AI-generated realistic content to be labeled. If someone else operates your twin, give them a written licence with the same clauses you would ask of a model.
Does a fictional AI influencer need a likeness release?
Not if the face is genuinely original and not built to resemble a real person. A release is needed when real people feed the persona: a model whose photos trained a LoRA, a voice donor, or a face used as a reference. If the persona clearly looks like a specific celebrity or private person, you are back in right-of-publicity territory even if you never used their photos.
What happens if someone makes an AI deepfake of me?
Report it to the platform first, using its impersonation or privacy form. For intimate images, the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours of a valid request, with FTC enforcement from May 19, 2026. For commercial misuse, a state right-of-publicity claim may apply. Keep screenshots and URLs, and talk to a lawyer in your state for anything beyond a takedown.
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