The short version
Your likeness is the collection of things that make you recognisably you: your face, your voice, your build, the way you move. AI production tools can now reproduce all of it convincingly, which means a person can appear in content they never physically performed in.
AI likeness licensing is the legal arrangement that makes this legitimate. The person grants a production permission to use their likeness for a defined purpose, for a defined time, in defined territories, for an agreed fee. The permission is recorded in a licence contract. Without that contract, using a recognisable person's likeness is a legal claim waiting to happen in most of the world.
What a licence actually covers
A proper likeness licence records four things: scope (what the likeness can be used for, such as advertising, gaming, or film and TV), territory (where the content can run), term (how long the permission lasts), and payment (what the person receives). Anything outside those four walls is not permitted.
On Actorsy, the licence sits on top of a consent record the person controls. Talent choose which categories of work they allow at all, and set a rate for each. A buyer can only license within those limits, so the contract can never say something the person did not agree to.
Why this exists now
Three things collided: AI tools got good enough to reproduce real people, regulation started catching up (the direction across the EU, UK and US is consent records, withdrawal rights and restrictions on sensitive uses), and the performers' unions made digital likeness consent a headline issue. Studios and platforms now need a clean, provable chain of permission for every real face they use, and people whose faces are in demand need a way to be paid rather than copied.
A consent-based marketplace is the infrastructure answer: verified people, documented permissions, a contract and a payment on every use.
Common questions
Is AI likeness licensing the same as selling my face?
No. A licence is permission for a defined use, for a defined time. You keep ownership of your likeness, you can price each use category yourself, and you can withdraw from future licensing whenever you want.
Who buys likeness licences?
Film and TV productions, game studios, advertising agencies, and AI platforms that need real presenter faces or crowd populations. Anything that puts a believable human being on screen.
Do I need an agent to license my likeness?
No. You can join a marketplace directly and set your own terms. If you have representation, agencies can also manage rosters on Actorsy on their talent's behalf.
Your likeness is an asset
Joining Actorsy is free. Set your terms, keep control, and get paid every time AI uses your likeness.