The US Actors’ Union SAG-AFTRA has the one from May with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers The negotiated collective agreement was approved by a clear majority. With a turnout of around 19 per cent, more than 91 per cent of members voted in favour of the agreement. The new agreement comes into force on 1 July 2026 and runs until 2030.

The agreement is regarded within the industry as an important sign of stabilisation following the protracted industrial disputes of 2023/24. Unlike the strike period itself, however, the focus this time is not on escalation but on the structural reorganisation of key production conditions – particularly with regard to the use of artificial intelligence.

AI rules are set to form the core of the agreement

At the heart of the new Guild agreement are enhanced safeguards for the use of AI in the acting industry. These include, in particular, provisions on digital replicas, the use of synthetic actors, and the use of voice and image data.

In future, producers will only be permitted to use digital replicas under clearly defined conditions. Among other things, the new rules include a stricter interpretation of consent requirements and a more precise definition of when a use is deemed to be covered by the script. The decisive factor here is the latest version of the script available to the actor – a detail intended to limit the scope for manipulation through subsequent changes.

The remuneration framework has also been amended: in future, minimum standards – including residual payment arrangements – will apply to certain forms of independently produced digital replicas, provided that their use is comparable to traditional acting performances.

„Significant additional value“ as a new hurdle for AI performers

The industry is paying particular attention to the new guidelines for so-called synthetic actors. The use of AI-generated characters in roles normally played by human actors is to be permitted only if they offer „significant additional value“ to the production.

In practice, this wording is likely to become a new legal and production-related test case. It remains unclear at this stage what specific criteria studios will have to apply in future to justify this added value – a potential point of conflict for forthcoming productions.

Deepfakes, training and biometric data

Further regulations concern the handling of deepfakes, biometric data and AI training data. Among other things, stricter disclosure requirements are being introduced for the use of performances in AI training. At the same time, studios must ensure that digital replicas are protected against unauthorised access and are accessible only to authorised persons.

Measures to protect child performers from exploitative digital depictions are also being explicitly strengthened.

A fixed term provides planning certainty – and slows down regulation

With a four-year term, the deal establishes a longer period of regulatory stability for the first time. At the same time, this is likely to significantly slow down the pace of future changes in the AI sector. Industry observers view this as a deliberate trade-off: greater planning certainty for studios in exchange for less flexibility in a highly dynamic technological environment.

Even before that, the Writers Guild of America signed a similar long-term contract.

Context: A signal with implications beyond Hollywood

For international productions – particularly in Europe – the agreement is likely to be relevant not so much for its specific provisions, but rather as a framework for future standards governing the use of AI in film production.

It is precisely the combination of consent requirements, remuneration rules and the introduction of undefined legal terms such as „significant additional value“ that is likely to have a lasting impact on European contractual and collective bargaining frameworks – not least in the context of the EU AI Act and the national AI collective bargaining models already taking shape.

The new SAG-AFTRA deal therefore marks not so much a new beginning as the consolidation of a regulatory framework that is likely to have a significant impact on the practical application of generative AI in the film industry in the coming years.