Not All AI Talent Is Created Equal: The Case for Licensed AI Twins

POPstars® AI Twins are changing how professional talent appears in advertising. Unlike synthetic people, POP’s AI Twins are licensed AI versions of real, consenting talent, with image rights secured through model agencies just as they are in traditional production.

For brands and agencies, that distinction is becoming an increasingly important assurance as US laws around the use of AI talent continue to define clearer boundaries for commercial advertising.

POP Creative Studio’s background in CGI, VFX and high-end image making gives the team a particularly practical understanding of how AI fits within a controlled commercial production workflow. Their hybrid approach combines traditional casting with advanced AI and CGI techniques, bringing the same production discipline, creative control and rights considerations to AI-generated work.

We have previously talked about how POP is using AI to expand creative workflows, but even since we published our article on the subject, the technology has moved quickly and the legal landscape has continued to develop. So we wanted to see how POP Creative Studio is approaching its licensed AI Twin workflow today.

What Makes a POPstar AI Twin Different From Fully Synthetic Talent?

POP uses fully licensed AI Twins, meaning the process begins with a real person who knows what is being created and has agreed to participate.

POP approaches this much like traditional casting: a brief is created, casting directors and model agencies are engaged, talent is selected, and usage and compensation are established. The talent’s consent is tied to the scope of the project, just as it would be on a traditional production.

“With our process, we reduce many of the uncertainties associated with fully synthetic AI talent. We know who the person is, the likeness is licensed, the talent has consented and they’re being properly compensated. There is a clear chain of provenance behind the image. There’s also the ethical side of supporting models in the industry and making sure they continue to be compensated for the use of their likeness.”

That controlled approach applies not only to the talent rights, but also to how the AI Twin itself is built.

Why Does the Way an AI Twin Is Trained Matter?

There is a persistent idea that AI production works something like this: upload a few reference images, type the right prompt and choose your favourite result. POP’s process looks very different.

POP uses a multi-stage training process to create a robust AI Twin capable of maintaining a consistent likeness across high-resolution outputs, different environments, expressions, poses and lighting conditions. The aim is not simply to produce one convincing image, but to build an identity capable of performing consistently across an entire campaign.

This is very different from lighter-touch AI workflows that rely on only a small number of reference images. Those approaches can work well for an individual output, but can become less reliable when asked to reproduce the same person repeatedly across different scenarios. Changes in facial structure, expression or identity can become more apparent and the result can begin to feel more like a face replacement than a consistent emotionally driven character.

Creating believable commercial imagery still requires art direction, lighting, composition, wardrobe, environments, retouching and often CGI. AI becomes another part of the production pipeline rather than replacing the creative skills around it.

Where Do AI Twins Add Value to a Campaign?

The value of an AI Twin goes beyond creating a single convincing image. It is about creating a consistent, recognisable identity that can continue to perform across multiple assets, formats and stages of a campaign.

A traditional shoot is designed around what a brand knows it needs at that moment. But campaigns evolve. New formats are requested, markets are added, wardrobe or environments change, social teams need additional content, or a successful campaign is extended beyond its original plan.

A licensed AI Twin gives brands another production option when those requirements emerge. The original talent remains the recognisable face of the campaign, while new imagery can be created without having to undergo a full shoot production each time.

“The real advantage is flexibility. You can shoot the talent traditionally and use the AI Twin alongside that production, or create additional assets later as the campaign evolves. It means the client doesn’t necessarily have to anticipate every image they’ll ever need on the original shoot day.”

The result is not simply more imagery, but more production options throughout the life of a campaign.

What Do Changing AI Laws and Talent Rights Mean for Brands?

The Twin remains governed by agreed talent rights, including the scope of use, media, territory, duration and compensation. If the campaign evolves beyond those terms, the rights and compensation need to evolve with it. This is increasingly relevant as legislation around AI-generated people develops.

New York’s current advertising law, for example, defines a “synthetic performer” as an AI-generated human performer who is not recognisable as an identifiable natural performer, and requires disclosure when such performers are used in commercial advertising. A POPstar AI Twin starts from a different position: it is deliberately based on an identifiable real person who has participated in and consented to the creation and commercial use of their digital likeness. The precise application of the law to any campaign should, of course, be determined by the advertiser’s own legal counsel.

Those principles are already fundamental to POP’s approach.

Does POP See AI Twins Replacing Traditional Production?

No. POP sees AI as another production tool.

Sometimes the right answer is photography. Sometimes it is CGI, AI or a hybrid of all three. The right approach depends on the creative idea, business objectives, budget, timeline and the level of authenticity and control a brand needs.

It is about combining the strengths of each approach and choosing the right production method for the creative challenge. Giving talent, agencies and brands greater control over how that imagery is created, licensed and used.