GFS Insight - August 2026 Edition
What we're seeing
AI is becoming part of normal production workflows.
At its 2026 Produced By Conference, the Producers Guild of America highlighted how AI tools are increasingly being integrated across development, production, post-production, marketing and distribution.
At the same time, industry agreements are becoming more specific about where and how AI can be used.
The 2026 SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Agreement strengthened protections around digital replicas and synthetic performers. Among the new provisions, producers must have a clear business reason for scanning a performer for a digital replica, alongside wider protections governing how replicas and synthetic performers can be used.
Together, these developments point towards a broader shift.
AI is no longer simply a creative or technical tool. Its use can involve Talent rights, consent, intellectual property, confidential information and contractual obligations.
As a result, productions need greater control over who is using AI, what it is being used for, and what information or material is being provided to it.
Why this matters on set
AI tools are widely accessible and can be introduced into a production by different departments, individuals or external vendors.
They may be used to:
- Develop scripts, treatments or creative concepts
- Generate or alter images and video
- Replicate a performer's voice, image or likeness
- Create temporary or final production assets
- Analyse or summarise production information
- Support post-production and VFX workflows
The issue is not necessarily the technology itself, but the risk increases when AI is used without clear production oversight, particularly where confidential material, protected creative work or a person's voice, image or likeness is involved.
Practical controls
- Establish an approved list of AI tools for production use
- Define permitted and prohibited uses of AI across departments
- Set clear restrictions on uploading confidential, personal, creative, or production-sensitive information
- Require appropriate consent before using a person’s voice, image, likeness, or performance
- Require human review before AI-generated material is relied on for creative, operational, or production decisions
- Escalate higher-risk uses, including digital replicas, synthetic performers, or commercially significant AI-generated assets, for specialist review
- Confirm AI use does not conflict with existing contractual, union, or intellectual property obligations before implementation
AI can create real production efficiencies, but as its use expands, clear controls become an increasingly important consideration.
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