In short: Read any contract that covers your voice or face for four things: what they can do with it, for how long, where, and whether you can approve or withdraw it. Equity's AI toolkit includes model clauses aimed at stopping performance cloning without consent and a template take-down notice. Do not sign a blanket permission that covers any media and any AI use forever. Take advice on the wording before you sign.
Your voice and your face are the work you are paid for, and an AI tool can now copy both. Before you sign anything, know what you are agreeing to. Most of the risk sits in one or two clauses that are easy to skim past.
What Equity's toolkit contains
Film Stories reports that Equity's AI toolkit, published on 9 June 2023, has four parts:
- An ethical-use statement on how AI can be applied ethically by the entertainment industry.
- A template contract for performance cloning, meaning the creation of a synthetic performance by recording, using or reproducing an artist's performance, including their voice or likeness.
- Model AI clauses intended to stop performances being cloned without consent.
- A template take-down notice for intellectual property infringement by platforms and websites.
The toolkit dates from 2023 and Film Stories does not reproduce the full text, so check Equity's site for the current version and take advice before using its wording.
Four things to check in any contract
- The use. Is the permission for this project, or for "any purpose"? Is a clone or a synthetic voice named as a use, or is it hidden in a general grant of rights?
- The length. Is there an end date? Does the permission survive the end of the job, and what happens to files and any model made from them?
- The place. Does the permission apply in the UK only, or worldwide, and does it cover the platforms the output might appear on?
- The control. Do you approve the output before it is used? Can you withdraw consent, and what happens to output already made?
What not to sign
- A blanket release covering any media, for any period, for any AI use.
- A clause that lets the company use your recording to train or build a voice model, without naming it and without a fee.
- A contract that turns a recording session into permission for a clone, with no separate fee.
- Terms that take away your right to approve the final output.
- Anything you have not had the chance to read, or to show to someone who advises performers.
If your voice or face turns up somewhere
Keep a record of where the content appears, when you found it and who made it. Equity's toolkit includes a take-down notice template for platforms and websites. A lawyer can advise on the wider options, because the ASA says personality rights and intellectual property are not issues it regulates. Its June 2026 article on AI and deepfakes tells advertisers to weigh the legal risks of using a public figure's likeness without permission and to seek legal advice.
Recording your own voice
If you are recording your own voice for a client, agree the terms before the session, and check the copy you will be reading so you know what is being used. Our voiceover recording studio page explains how a session works, and the voice reel guide covers recording your own demo.
This page is general guidance, not legal advice.
Sources
- Film Stories, Equity's AI toolkit (Equity, 9 June 2023, as reported by Film Stories), read 5 November 2026
- Advertising Standards Authority, AI and Deepfakes: Four Things Advertisers Need to Know Before They Hit Run (CAP news, 11 June 2026), read 5 November 2026
The picture at the top of this page is an illustration, not a photograph of a client or a real job.
Questions we get asked
Should an actor sign a contract that allows AI cloning of their voice?
Only with a clear, limited permission. The contract should name the clone as a separate use, set the fee, limit the projects and the term, and give you approval over the output. A session release for the recording does not cover a clone unless it says so.
What is a performance clone?
Equity's toolkit describes performance cloning as creating a synthetic performance from an artist's performance, voice or likeness. A contract for it should say exactly what the synthetic performance can be used for.
What can an actor do if their voice or face is used without permission?
Equity's toolkit includes a template take-down notice for infringement by platforms and websites. Take legal advice, because the ASA does not regulate personality rights or intellectual property.
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