Consent first: using real faces and voices in AI ads

A few years ago, putting a person in an advert meant hiring them, filming them and paying them. Their consent was built into the process. Today, AI can generate a convincing face, copy a voice from a short recording or put a real person into a scene they were never in. The technology no longer requires consent. That is exactly why your process must.

Why it matters

• It is the person's right. A face and a voice are part of who someone is. Using them without permission takes something that is not yours.
• It is the law. In Kenya, images and voice recordings that identify a person can be personal data under the Data Protection Act. Using someone's likeness to promote a product without consent also raises legal risks under advertising, passing-off and defamation law.
• It is trust. Customers who discover a brand used someone without permission stop trusting everything else the brand says.

Who needs to consent

• Staff and owners appearing in ads
• Customers in testimonials, before-and-after images or photos from your premises
• Models and actors, including for future AI-generated content based on their likeness
• Children, through a parent or guardian, with extra care
• Anyone recognisable in a photo you attach to an AI tool

A practical consent checklist

1. Ask in writing. A simple signed form or a clear message saying what you will use, where and for how long.
2. Explain AI use specifically. "We may use your photo to generate new images of you in our ads" is different from "we will post this photo".
3. Say where it will appear: social media, posters, TV, other countries.
4. Agree a time limit and what happens when it ends.
5. Let people withdraw, and honour it.
6. Pay fairly when someone's likeness is part of your marketing.
7. Keep records of every consent.

Generated people are not a loophole

AI can create people who do not exist, and that is often the respectful choice for illustration. But be careful: a generated person who closely resembles a real one, especially a celebrity or public figure, is not "fictional" in any meaningful sense. Never prompt a tool to imitate a real person.

How Tari Studio handles it

Tari Studio's rules are simple: only upload or make pictures, clips and audio of people who agreed to appear in your ads, and of children only with a parent's or guardian's consent; never imitate a real person without their permission. Privacy and pictures of people.

When you set up a character from photos of a real person, such as a brand ambassador, the Studio keeps that likeness consistent across ads. That makes consent even more important: get permission for every future use, not just the first. Characters.

Voices deserve the same care

Voice cloning is now easy and convincing. Never make an ad that sounds like a real person unless they have agreed in writing. A familiar voice used without permission is an endorsement that was never given.

Consent is not a box to tick. It is the line between using AI and abusing it.