Using an AI-Generated Voice or Likeness in Advertising: California's Digital Replica Rules

Last updated: November 2026. Reviewed by Pavel Kolmogorov, California business litigation attorney (State Bar No. 321018).

A digital replica is a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as a real person's voice or likeness. In California a business generally may not use one in advertising without that person's consent, and an expired spokesperson contract supplies it only if its terms say so. Knowingly using another's voice or likeness to advertise or sell, without prior consent, creates liability for at least $750, attributable profits, and attorney's fees. (Civ. Code, § 3344, subd. (a).) Kolmogorov Law, P.C. advises businesses on AI compliance and litigates the claims that follow.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online before a synthetic voice or face goes into a campaign, or after a demand letter arrives.

California digital replica law is three statutes

Three statutes share the field.

Civil Code section 3344 protects living people against knowing commercial use of their name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness without prior consent.
Civil Code section 3344.1 protects deceased personalities and, since January 1, 2025, addresses digital replicas in certain expressive works.
Labor Code section 927 limits what a services contract can say about replacing a person's work with a digital replica.

Only the last two use the term. Both define a digital replica as a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as an individual's voice or visual likeness. It appears in a recording or image in which the individual did not actually perform or appear, or in which the fundamental character of the performance or appearance was materially altered. Reproduction, sampling, remixing, mastering, and remastering authorized by the copyright holder are excluded. (Civ. Code, § 3344.1, subd. (a)(2); Lab. Code, § 927, subd. (c).)

Section 3344 was amended effective January 1, 2026. It still does not define "voice" or "likeness," and it does not mention artificial intelligence. Our page on the right of publicity covers its remedies and exceptions.

Does section 3344 reach a synthetic voice

The Ninth Circuit faced an earlier version of the problem. An advertiser hired a singer to imitate a famous performer for a commercial. The court held that section 3344 did not apply, because the voice used was the imitator's, and "likeness" refers to a visual image. It then held that California common law fills the gap. When the distinctive voice of a widely known professional singer is deliberately imitated to sell a product, the sellers have committed a tort. (Midler v. Ford Motor Co. (9th Cir. 1988) 849 F.2d 460, 463.)

An AI clone built from a person's own recordings differs from a human imitator. The research for this page found no published appellate decision deciding whether section 3344 covers such a clone. A claimant can still plead the common law claim. Federal law separately reaches a false or misleading representation likely to deceive as to another person's sponsorship or approval. (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A).)

When the spokesperson contract has ended

Section 3344 requires prior consent. Whether an old license supplies it for new material depends on its terms. Read the old agreement for the usage period, the media, and any language about simulated or synthesized performances.

Even a broad clause may not help. Under Labor Code section 927, a provision in an agreement for personal or professional services is unenforceable, as to a new performance by a digital replica fixed on or after January 1, 2025, if three things are true.

It allows a digital replica of the individual's voice or likeness in place of work the individual would otherwise have performed in person.
It lacks a reasonably specific description of the intended uses. This condition is excused when the uses are consistent with the contract and with the fundamental character of the recording as performed.
The individual was not represented by a lawyer who negotiated the replica rights, with the commercial terms stated clearly and conspicuously in a writing the individual signed or initialed. Representation by a labor union for workers who do that work, under an agreement that expressly addresses digital replicas, also counts.

(Lab. Code, § 927, subd. (a).) The rest of the contract is unaffected. (Lab. Code, § 927, subd. (b).)

An old agreement is therefore a weak basis for new lines in a former spokesperson's voice. The safe course is a new, specific, written consent.

Deceased performers and public figures

A deceased personality's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness may not be used on products or in advertising without consent from the holders of the rights, subject to statutory exceptions. The minimum recovery is $750, plus profits attributable to the use. The rights are property, they pass by contract, trust, or will, and no action lies for a use more than 70 years after death. A successor cannot recover damages for a use that occurred before it registered its claim with the Secretary of State. (Civ. Code, § 3344.1, subds. (a)(1), (b), (f), (g).)

A separate clause covers a digital replica of a deceased personality's voice or likeness in an expressive audiovisual work or sound recording. Producing, distributing, or making it available without consent carries liability for the greater of $10,000 or actual damages. Exceptions cover news, commentary, criticism, scholarship, satire, parody, certain documentary and biographical uses, and fleeting or incidental uses. (Civ. Code, § 3344.1, subd. (a)(2).)

What to do before a replica goes into a campaign

List every real person the synthetic voice or face could be taken for, including a "sound-alike" requested in a prompt.
Obtain written consent that names the replica, the uses, the media, and the term.
Check who warrants the rights in the agency or tool agreement. Our page on AI vendor contracts covers indemnity terms.
Keep the source recordings and generation records.

Copyright is a separate question, addressed on our pages about AI-generated content and music in social media ads. Disclosure of an automated agent is covered on our page about the bot disclosure law.

If a demand letter arrives

A claimant may seek an injunction or a temporary restraining order. The statute sets a short deadline for an order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527, subdivision (c), the provision on temporary restraining orders granted without notice. If that order requires material to be removed, recalled, or no longer distributed, compliance is due within two business days after service, unless the order says otherwise. (Civ. Code, § 3344, subd. (a)(2); Code Civ. Proc., § 527, subd. (c).) The prevailing party is entitled to attorney's fees. Preserve the campaign files, the prompts, and the talent agreements before changing anything.

What to bring to the first meeting

The ad or content, with the dates and channels of use.
Every agreement with the performer, the agency, and the AI vendor.
The source material and the settings used to generate the replica.
Revenue figures for the campaign and any demand received.

Frequently asked questions

Can we use an AI-generated version of a spokesperson's voice in our ads if our contract with her has ended?

Not safely without a new written consent. California Civil Code section 3344 requires prior consent to use a person's voice or likeness in advertising, and whether an expired license covers new material depends on its terms. Labor Code section 927 also makes some replica clauses in services agreements unenforceable for new performances fixed on or after January 1, 2025.

Our old talent agreement says we may reproduce the performer's voice by any technology. Does that let us generate new ads with an AI clone?

Not safely. California Labor Code section 927 can make a clause unenforceable for new performances when it lets a digital replica stand in for work the person would have performed. It does not do so if the clause describes the intended uses with reasonable specificity, or if the person had qualifying representation by counsel or a union. Read the clause against those conditions.

What is a digital replica under California law?

It is a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as an individual's voice or visual likeness. The person either did not actually perform or appear in the recording or image, or did so in a performance whose fundamental character was materially altered. California uses that definition in Civil Code section 3344.1 and Labor Code section 927.

Is it legal to use an AI voice that sounds like a celebrity in an ad?

It is risky in California. A federal appeals court held that deliberately imitating the distinctive voice of a widely known professional singer to sell a product is a tort under California common law. The imitator there was a human singer, and the court held that the right of publicity statute did not cover the imitation. Federal false endorsement law can apply as well.

Can a business use an AI recreation of a deceased celebrity?

Only with consent from the holders of the rights, unless an exception applies. California protects a deceased personality's voice and likeness in advertising for 70 years after death, with a $750 minimum recovery. A digital replica in an expressive audiovisual work or sound recording carries a $10,000 minimum, subject to exceptions such as parody and news.

Talk to a California business litigation attorney

If your business plans to use a synthetic voice or likeness, or has received a demand over one, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is in Irvine, California.

This page provides general information about California and federal law and is not legal advice. This area is changing, and outcomes depend on the use, the consent, the contract, and the court.