Recommended Free Tools
Actors’ and writers’ unions do not have one shared policy or a blanket ban on artificial intelligence in film and television. SAG-AFTRA’s rules focus on a performer’s voice, likeness, digital replicas, consent, pay and protection against replacement. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) focuses on whether AI output is writing, who receives credit and compensation, disclosure, a writer’s ability to refuse AI, and the use of writers’ material to train systems.
The most current actor-side rules are in SAG-AFTRA’s ratified 2026 TV/Theatrical Agreement. The WGA position is summarized in the 2023 Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA), with guidance updated through December 2025. Both frameworks set negotiated guardrails while leaving important questions—especially future synthetic-performer use and AI training data—contested.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The two unions protect different kinds of work
SAG-AFTRA represents performers. Its AI bargaining is therefore built around identity and performance: a recognizable face, voice, movement or other element that can be reproduced or altered. The union separates permission to create a replica from permission to use that replica in a project, and treats compensation and residuals as part of the bargain.
The WGA represents screen and television writers. Its AI provisions address the legal and contractual status of text, credit, compensation, disclosure and working conditions. The guild’s guidance says an AI system is not a writer and that AI-produced text is not “literary material” under the MBA. That classification affects assignments, credits and separated rights.
#1 Best Overall
Because the jobs differ, the unions’ mechanisms differ. SAG-AFTRA negotiates consent and bargaining over a simulated performer. WGA rules determine what counts as a writing contribution and whether a company can direct a writer to use an AI tool.
SAG-AFTRA: consent, replicas and human performance
The union’s position before the 2023 settlement
In a March 17, 2023 statement, SAG-AFTRA said that terms for digitally simulating a performer to create new performances must be bargained with the union. It also said that reuse of recorded performances is governed by collectively bargained provisions, including consent and compensation, and characterized those rights as mandatory subjects of bargaining. This is the union’s stated bargaining position, not a court ruling. The statement identified approximately 160,000 members at that time; that figure is a membership scale indicator, not a count of people displaced or affected by AI.
What the 2023 TV/Theatrical framework covered
The SAG-AFTRA 2023 TV/Theatrical agreement summary described rules for digital replicas of living and deceased members. Producers had to obtain consent before creating a replica, with at least 48 hours’ notice, and then obtain informed consent for its use. In most cases, use also required payment and residuals when the performer would have earned residuals by doing the work personally.
- A replica could not be used to avoid hiring background actors.
- A producer could not use replicas to evade coverage maximums.
- Digital alteration beyond established, traditional post-production edits and fixes required consent.
- For a wholly synthetic performer not based on a real person, the producer had to notify the union and provide an opportunity to bargain.
Those points summarize the 2023 deal. Where the 2026 agreement changes a term, the executed 2026 language controls.
Employment-based and independently created replicas
SAG-AFTRA’s explanatory FAQ distinguishes two forms of replica. An employment-based digital replica is created with a performer’s participation in connection with a particular project. An independently created digital replica is made outside a particular project and may later be licensed into a production even when the performer is not physically working on it.
Rank #2
Consent is generally required for each use, subject to limited exceptions. A series-level exception requires the producer to identify each episode or picture and describe the planned use with reasonable specificity. If the planned use changes, additional consent is required. This is why a broad release covering an entire series is not automatically permission for every later application of a replica.
What the executed 2026 agreement adds
SAG-AFTRA’s TV/Theatrical Memorandum of Agreement was executed on May 27, 2026, and members ratified the new TV/Theatrical Agreement in June 2026. It defines generative AI as a subset of AI that learns patterns from data and produces content. The definition distinguishes generative systems from traditional task-specific technologies such as computer-generated imagery (CGI) and visual effects (VFX).
The agreement also defines a synthetic differently from a digital replica. A synthetic is a digitally created asset intended to give the clear impression of a natural performer who is not recognizable as an identifiable natural performer, is not voiced by a natural person, is not a digital replica, and has no employment arrangement for that role in the motion picture. A synthetic therefore is not simply another name for an actor’s replica.
“The parties acknowledge and reaffirm the importance and central role of human performance in motion pictures.”
For certain productions beginning principal photography on or after July 1, 2026, the agreement establishes a principle strongly favoring human performances. If a producer reasonably concludes that a synthetic would bring significant additional value to a role that otherwise would be performed by a human, the producer must give the union prior written notice and bargain in good faith over the use and any appropriate consideration.
Rank #3
This is a process requirement, not an absolute veto. If bargaining fails and the producer uses the synthetic, the union may arbitrate remuneration under the agreement. Any remuneration awarded through that process is directed to the relevant health or pension/retirement plan rather than described as an individual performer’s fee.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The agreement separately requires the identified performer’s consent when a producer creates a synthetic with a recognizable principal facial feature by prompting with that performer’s name and feature. The contract contains stated First Amendment exceptions. The provision therefore addresses a specific form of recognizable identity prompting, not every generated image or character.
Network television is not automatically identical
SAG-AFTRA’s current AI timeline records that the 2025 Network Television Code committed to adopt future AI terms secured in the 2026 negotiations. That does not mean the 2026 TV/Theatrical wording automatically applied identically to every network television agreement on the date of the research. The agreement governing a particular production and its start date still matter.
WGA: AI output, credit and a writer’s choice
AI is not a writer under the MBA
The WGAW’s AI guidance, updated December 18, 2025, summarizes the 2023 MBA this way:
“Neither traditional AI (technologies including those used in CGI and VFX) nor generative AI (GAI, meaning artificial intelligence that produces content including written material) is a writer, so no written material produced by traditional AI or GAI can be considered literary material.”
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.Rank #4
That rule applies to both traditional AI technologies and generative AI. It prevents a company from treating machine-generated text as a writer’s literary contribution for purposes of the agreement.
What happens when a company gives a writer AI-generated pages
If a company supplies a writer with previously unpublished or unexploited AI-generated material, the material does not count as assigned material for compensation or as source material for determining credits. It also cannot disqualify the writer from separated rights. Companies must disclose when material given to a writer was generated by AI or incorporates AI-generated content.
The practical consequence is that a writer should know whether pages supplied by a company include AI output before negotiating or performing the assignment. Disclosure affects how the material is treated under the MBA; it does not turn the AI system into a credited writer.
Can a company require a writer to use AI?
No. Under the WGA’s summary, a writer may choose to use AI when the company consents and the writer follows applicable company policies, but the company may not require AI use. The rule protects both sides from an assumed answer: a writer is not prohibited from using a tool in every circumstance, yet an employer cannot make AI use a condition of performing the writing job under the agreement.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallCompany consent and internal policy still matter. A writer considering an AI tool must account for confidentiality, disclosure, ownership and any restrictions imposed by the employer before entering material into that system.
Training on writers’ material remains contested
The WGA reserves the right to argue that exploiting writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by the MBA or by other law. That reservation is an advocacy position, not a final contractual interpretation or a determination that every training practice is unlawful.
WGA East’s policy page records that it joined WGA West, SAG-AFTRA and other parties in a November 26, 2025 amicus brief supporting the plaintiff’s argument in Reuters v. Ross Intelligence that training AI on copyrighted material without consent is not fair use. The brief shows the unions’ litigation position; it does not itself resolve the case or establish a universal rule for all training datasets.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the positions compare
| Issue | SAG-AFTRA | WGA |
|---|---|---|
| Protected work or identity | Performer voice, likeness, performance and digital replicas; negotiated protection for human performance against synthetic substitution. | Writing, literary material, credit, compensation and separated rights. |
| Primary control | Consent to create and use replicas, notice, bargaining and compensation; special rules for synthetics. | AI-use choice, company disclosure and treatment of AI-generated pages under the MBA. |
| Substitution question | For specified productions, synthetic use in a human role triggers notice and good-faith bargaining, with possible arbitration over remuneration. | AI output is not a writer or literary material; a company cannot compel a writer to use AI. |
| Unresolved area | Future replica uses, broader synthetic deployment and how negotiated terms apply across different agreements. | Whether training on writers’ material violates the MBA or other law, and how courts will treat those arguments. |
Questions professionals should ask about a project
If you are a performer
- Is the proposed asset a digital replica of an identifiable person or a contract-defined synthetic?
- Is the producer asking for permission to create the asset, permission to use it, or both?
- Does the consent identify each episode, picture, scene or other planned use with reasonable specificity?
- Will the use replace a performance, affect residuals, or alter the performer beyond ordinary post-production fixes?
- Which agreement governs the production, and when does principal photography begin?
These questions keep creation consent separate from use consent and prevent a 2023 summary from being treated as the complete 2026 rule set.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesIf you are a writer
- Has the company disclosed whether supplied pages contain AI-generated material?
- Are you being asked to use an AI system, or are you choosing to use one with company consent?
- Which company policy governs confidentiality, approved tools and handling of scripts?
- How will the supplied material be treated for compensation, credit and separated rights?
- Could the project involve training on writers’ material, and what position does the guild or company take?
The MBA answers the employment and credit questions, while training-data disputes remain subject to continuing negotiation, litigation and future legal decisions.
What these rules do—and do not—mean
Neither union has established a universal prohibition on AI in film and television. SAG-AFTRA’s agreements create consent, notice, bargaining and remuneration mechanisms around replicas and defined synthetic uses, while reaffirming the central role of human performance. The WGA establishes that AI is not a writer, requires disclosure of AI-generated material supplied by a company, protects a writer’s choice not to use AI and preserves arguments about training data.
For any specific production, the decisive details are the governing collective-bargaining agreement, the type of AI asset, whether a real performer or writer’s material is identifiable, the intended use, and the production dates. Treating every generated image as a digital replica, every synthetic as a human replacement, or every WGA position as a blanket ban erases the distinctions the negotiated language depends on.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
