Can Your Business Use AI-Generated People In Advertising?

So, it’s time to get your business’s marketing sorted. Instead of organising a photoshoot, hiring a photographer, getting release forms signed and dealing with everything else that comes with creating new advertising content, you’ve decided to use AI.

You’ve probably seen other businesses doing the same. AI-generated people can look surprisingly realistic, and creating an image can be much quicker and cheaper than organising a traditional photoshoot. So, why not?

Businesses can generally use AI-generated people in advertising, but AI-generated does not mean risk-free or rights-free.

Before publishing the image, you still need to consider where it came from, whether you have permission to use any material or real people involved, what your AI provider allows and what the finished advertisement leads customers to believe.

Disclosure can also be relevant, but it is only one part of the legal picture.

What Counts As An AI-Generated Person?

Not every AI-generated person is created in the same way.

At one end, you might type a prompt into an AI tool and generate a completely fictional person who was not intentionally based on anyone real.

However, you might also upload an existing photograph and ask an AI tool to create something new from it. This could involve changing someone’s clothing, placing them in a new setting or creating an entire campaign from one original image.

AI can also be used to recreate or closely imitate the appearance of an identifiable real person.

The important distinction is whether you are working with a fictional person or using the image, identity or likeness of someone who already exists.

Once a real person or existing photograph becomes part of the process, copyright, data protection, consent and false endorsement issues can become much more important.

Does AI-Generated Mean Copyright-Free?

No. An AI-generated image is not automatically free from copyright issues.

The first question is often what your business put into the AI tool.

Say you upload a photographer’s image and ask an AI tool to generate five new versions for an advertising campaign.

You need to consider who owns copyright in that original photograph and what your licence actually lets you do with it.

Copyright in a photograph normally belongs to the relevant copyright owner rather than automatically to the person pictured, and UK copyright gives owners rights over activities such as copying and adapting protected work.

Permission to publish a photograph on your website does not necessarily mean you have permission to feed it into an AI platform and use it to create new commercial content.

The practical solution is to check the agreement or licence covering the original image before uploading it.

If your rights are unclear, a Copyright Consult can help you work out what your business can use, modify or license.

There is also the finished AI image.

If an output reproduces protected elements of an existing photograph, illustration or other work closely enough, copyright issues can still arise. Calling the image “AI-generated” does not automatically change that.

What About Copyrighted Material Used To Train AI?

The use of copyright material in AI training remains a live legal and policy issue in the UK.

The Government published a substantial copyright and AI report in March 2026 covering training, licensing, transparency, infringement and AI-generated works. It is continuing further work rather than treating every part of the issue as settled.

For a small business using an existing AI tool, however, the more immediate checks are usually simpler:

What did you upload? What rights do you have over it? What do the provider’s terms say? And what does the finished image actually reproduce?

Can Your Business Own The AI-Generated Image?

The UK position here is particularly interesting.

UK copyright law contains specific provisions for certain computer-generated works created in circumstances where there is no human author.

For qualifying literary, dramatic, musical or artistic computer-generated works, copyright can last for 50 years. The person who undertakes the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work is treated as the author. The Government’s 2026 report says that, for a general-purpose AI system responding to a prompt, this will usually be the person who entered the prompt.

However, this does not mean ownership of every AI-generated image is automatically straightforward.

The same Government report identifies uncertainty over how the computer-generated-work provisions interact with modern copyright originality requirements, and notes the lack of case law resolving the issue.

For a business, the practical approach is not to assume that clicking “generate” gives you an unquestionable monopoly over the result.

If an AI-generated character or campaign is going to become an important brand asset, check the provider’s terms, keep records of the creative input your team contributed and speak to a legal expert if exclusivity is commercially important.

What Do The AI Tool’s Terms Let You Do?

Before using an AI image commercially, check that the AI platform allows the intended use.

Different providers take different approaches to:

• commercial use
• ownership or licensing of outputs
• uploaded photographs and creative material
• generation of real or recognisable people
• retaining inputs or using them to improve the service
• responsibility for third-party IP claims.

An AI provider saying you can use an output commercially does not necessarily mean it guarantees that the output is clear of everybody else’s rights.

If your business is relying heavily on a particular AI provider, a Contract Review can help clarify what the agreement actually gives you.

If employees are using AI to produce marketing, social posts or other customer-facing material, an AI Acceptable Use Policy can also set boundaries around approved tools, data handling, IP and internal approval.

What If The AI Person Is Based On Someone Real?

If a real person is identifiable, do not assume existing permission to use their photograph automatically covers creating new AI versions of them.

Say a model agrees to appear in photographs for one campaign.

A year later, the business uploads those photographs to an AI tool and generates new videos, poses and advertisements featuring an artificial version of that model.

That is a different use, and the original agreement may not cover it.

UK data protection law can also become relevant where AI involves personal data. The ICO’s guidance on AI and data protection explains that UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply where AI processes personal data, including during training, testing and deployment. Personal data can include information relating to an identifiable person even where you do not know their name.

The UK also does not currently have one broad standalone “personality right” that simply gives everyone ownership of their face or likeness. The Government’s 2026 copyright and AI review instead identifies a patchwork of possible protections, including data protection, passing off, trade marks, contracts and other laws. It also acknowledges gaps around unauthorised digital replicas.

Passing off may become relevant in some commercial circumstances where a business falsely presents content in a way that suggests a well-known person is genuinely connected with or endorsing it, although the requirements are fact-specific.

The practical solution is to get permission that reflects what you actually intend to do.

A suitable Talent Release Form can address image, voice, performance, approvals and future reuse.

If AI processing forms part of how your business handles personal data, your Privacy Policy should also reflect your real data practices.

Can An AI-Generated Person Give A Testimonial Or Endorse A Product?

An AI-generated person should not be presented as having a genuine customer experience that never happened.

An AI model holding your skincare product is one thing.

An AI model saying:

“I’ve used this every morning for two months and it completely changed my skin.”

is another.

The second advertisement appears to describe a real customer experience.

UK consumer protection rules under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibit unfair commercial practices, including misleading actions and omissions, while fake review practices are specifically prohibited.

The CMA’s guidance on unfair commercial practices explains the new regime and includes the rules applying to fake reviews and misleading commercial practices.

The safer distinction is between using AI as a presenter and inventing a person, experience or endorsement that consumers could reasonably think is genuine.

If an AI character is presenting factual product information, make sure the information itself is accurate.

If you want to use a testimonial, use a genuine customer experience.

The same care applies to AI-generated doctors, tradespeople or other apparent professionals. Do not give customers the impression that a genuine expert has approved or tested something where nobody has.

Can The AI Image Misrepresent Your Product?

Yes. The picture itself can make a claim.

AI could make:

• clothing appear to fit differently
• a beauty product appear to produce particular results
• a before-and-after comparison look more dramatic
• a product appear to perform in a way it cannot
• a fictional customer appear to achieve a particular result.

Consumer law looks beyond the exact words you use. Under the UK’s unfair commercial practices regime, misleading commercial practices can be unlawful where they are likely to cause the average consumer to make a different transactional decision.

The practical solution is simple: compare the generated advertisement with the real product and the evidence supporting your claims before publishing it.

If the AI has improved the product rather than simply improved the ad, change the image.

Do You Have To Disclose That The Person Is AI-Generated?

The UK does not currently have a general rule requiring every AI-generated image to be labelled as AI-generated.

The Government’s March 2026 copyright and AI report says that the UK does not currently regulate the labelling of AI-generated content generally. It notes that some companies label AI content voluntarily or because they need to comply with rules in other markets.

That does not mean transparency is irrelevant.

If hiding the fact that AI was used contributes to a misleading commercial impression, existing consumer law may still matter.

A useful question is:

Would customers understand this advertisement differently if they knew the person was synthetic?

If so, making that clear may be sensible.

However, disclosure does not:

• give you copyright permission
• give you permission to recreate a real person
• turn a fake testimonial into a genuine one
• make a misleading product claim accurate
• override the AI provider’s terms.

Transparency and permission are separate issues.

What If Your Advertising Is Seen Overseas?

If your business advertises internationally, UK requirements may not be the end of the story.

For example, transparency obligations under Article 50 of the EU AI Act began applying on 2 August 2026. They include requirements around machine-readable marking of certain AI-generated content and disclosure where AI is used to create or manipulate content that constitutes a deepfake.

The requirements are more nuanced than simply placing the same visible “AI-generated” label on every AI image, but they demonstrate that other markets can take a more prescriptive approach.

The UK Government itself notes that UK businesses may need to comply with overseas AI-transparency regulation in order to access those markets.

The European Commission’s Article 50 guidance provides more detail on the EU requirements.

So, if your campaign will run across several countries, check where it will actually be seen before assuming one version of the advertisement will work everywhere.

What Should You Check Before Using An AI Person In An Ad?

Before publishing, ask:

• Is the person completely fictional or recognisable as someone real?
• Did we upload an existing photograph or third-party creative material?
• Does our copyright licence allow us to modify and commercially use it?
• If a real person is involved, does their permission cover AI-generated versions?
• Are we processing personal data through the AI system?
• Does the provider permit this commercial use?
• Could the finished output reproduce another protected work?
• Do we understand what rights we have in the output?
• Could the person appear to be a genuine customer, expert or endorser?
• Does the image accurately represent the product?
• Would explaining that AI was used prevent a misleading impression?
• Will the advertisement appear in markets with different AI rules?

You do not necessarily need legal help every time your marketing team generates an image.

However, if a real person is being recreated, third-party content is being uploaded, a campaign is commercially significant or the provider’s terms are unclear, getting advice before publishing can help you work out what permission or documentation you actually need.

AI may make creating the advertisement easier. The important part is making sure it does not create a copyright, data protection or advertising issue that could have been addressed upfront.

If you would like a consultation on using AI generating people in your business’s advertising, you can reach us at 08081347754 or team@sprintlaw.co.uk for a free, no-obligations chat.