Will AI Replace Actors? What Actors Need to Know in 2026

Not on union film and TV sets any time soon. As of November 2026, SAG-AFTRA's contracts make studios get your consent and pay you before they make or use a digital replica of you, and producers must bargain with the union before using an AI "synthetic performer". The real pressure is at the edges, especially low-paid voice work. Here's what the contracts and laws actually say, and what our experts told us.

Will AI replace actors?

Not the work people buy a ticket for. Kym Jackson's view, in her answer to a member: audiences want to see people, and part of why we watch is to feel connected to the human journey. We choose films for who is in them and what they'll do with the role.

She does expect some low-budget content, such as vertical micro-dramas, to use AI actors. Her bigger prediction is positive: AI could let small productions look like multi-million dollar ones, giving actors at every budget level bigger stories to be in. Her verdict: no reason not to pursue acting.

What does SAG-AFTRA's contract say about AI?

The framework came out of the 2023 strike. Per SAG-AFTRA's Digital Replicas 101 bulletin:

• Consent first. A producer needs your informed consent, with a reasonably specific description of the intended use, in clear and conspicuous wording you sign separately. Consent is per project, not blanket.
• Pay. If your replica is used in the same picture, you're paid for the days you would have worked in person, plus residuals where they'd apply. Time spent being scanned counts as work time.
• Background actors. Replicas can't be used to replace background actors within the contract's coverage numbers.
• Replicas made without you (from existing footage) still need consent and bargaining, though the 2023 deal set no minimum pay for them.

What changed in the 2026 contract?

Members ratified the new TV/Theatrical contracts on 4 June 2026 by 91.42 percent, and they run from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2030, according to SAG-AFTRA. The union's referendum booklet lists the new AI terms:

• "No scan" replicas built from footage shot on the production get the same protections as scanned ones, and replicas made without you now carry a minimum payment at the day performer rate.
• Using your replica to dub you into another language will need consent, for pictures starting principal photography on or after 1 July 2027.
• Your replica can't be used during a strike, and a minor's replica can't be used in nude or sexual scenes.
• Producers need an "articulable business reason" before asking to scan you, and can't use biometric data for anything unrelated to the picture.
• If a producer licenses performances to train a public AI system, it must notify the union and meet to discuss it, including any payment.

What's the difference between a digital replica and a synthetic performer?

A digital replica is a copy of a real, recognisable performer. A synthetic performer is a fully AI-generated "person" who isn't based on anyone. Under the 2026 deal, producers can't use one without first bargaining with SAG-AFTRA, and agree to a principle "strongly favoring human performances". A synthetic can't fill a human role unless it adds significant value, and the union can arbitrate for damages.

When the AI "actress" Tilly Norwood was announced in September 2025, SAG-AFTRA's statement said she "is not an actor, it's a character generated by a computer program".

Will AI replace voice actors?

Some of the work, yes, and that's already happened. Voice actor and teacher David H. Lawrence XVII told us, in a session recorded during the 2023 strike, that synthetic voices have already taken jobs, mostly low-paid or unpaid ones. Phone-menu (IVR) work, a category that paid him well, has had synthetic options since the late 1980s, and brands still chose human voices because they want the humanity.

His advice: don't spend energy on what you can't control. Get so good you can't be ignored, and watch the new licensing deals, where performers are paid each time a model of their voice is used. SAG-AFTRA lists one such route, its Narrativ agreement for licensing voice replicas in audio ads, on its AI page. For rates and the wider picture, see how much voice actors make.

What about commercials and video games?

Both have their own AI terms. SAG-AFTRA's 2025 Commercials Contracts, ratified on 21 May 2025, say performer consent is required before a replica is created, your data can't train AI without union consent, and a replica-generated performance pays 1.5 times the session fee plus the usual holding and use fees.

The 2025 video game agreement requires consent and disclosure for replicas, lets you suspend consent for new material during a strike, and gives you a usage report.

What does the law say about AI and deepfakes?

In the US it's mostly state by state. SAG-AFTRA's AI page lists, among others:

• California AB 2602 (2024) limits replica clauses unless the use is specifically described and you had a lawyer or union, AB 1836 protects deceased performers, and SB 1050 (2026) requires ads to disclose a synthetic performer.
• New York passed two bills, signed on 11 December 2025, requiring ads to disclose synthetic performers and protecting deceased performers' replicas.
• Tennessee's ELVIS Act (March 2024) protects voice and likeness from AI cloning.

The federal NO FAKES Act, which would create a national right over your voice and likeness, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously on 18 June 2026, per Sen. Blackburn's office. It's still a bill, not a law. This is general information, not legal advice; check with the union or an entertainment lawyer for your situation.

Does any of this protect non-union actors?

The contract terms only apply to union jobs with signatory producers. On a non-union job, your protection is your contract plus any state law. Read every clause that mentions a digital replica, likeness, voice model, scan or AI training before you sign.

Outside the US, rules differ. In the UK, Equity publishes an AI toolkit for performers. For how union membership changes your protection, see union vs non-union actors.

Is AI choosing who gets cast?

Not according to casting directors' own professional bodies. The International Casting Directors Association's 2026 statement accepts AI for tasks like summarising breakdowns and analysing self tapes, but says it must not make final casting decisions, and that material actors upload must not be reused to train AI.

The 2026 SAG-AFTRA deal also commits producers to work with the union if a casting site's terms would let submissions be used against the AI rules. Read a casting site's terms before uploading, and be wary of any "audition" that wants lots of recordings but names no real project.

What can actors do now?

• Read before you sign. Take any replica, scan or AI clause to your agent, the union or a lawyer.
• Ask why you're being scanned. On a 2026 union job, the producer needs a business reason.
• Join or stay in the union where you can. The protections above only reach signatory work.
• Get better, and get known. Being excellent and human is the part AI can't copy.
• Use the tools. Playwright Pete Malicki suggests treating technology as a career asset for organising and marketing. Kym suggests trying writing and producing too.

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All rates current from sagaftra.org as of 5 November 2026.