AI actors explained: what Hollywood's new rules allow, and what they mean for British TV and soap stars

Artificial intelligence has moved from a talking point to a clause in actors' contracts. In June, members of the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA voted to ratify a new agreement with the major Hollywood studios and streamers, and among its terms is a test that an AI-generated performer has to pass before it can be used in place of a human being.

For viewers in Britain, and for the actors who appear in our favourite soaps, the obvious question is whether anything similar is coming here, and how close the UK is to settling its own rules.

What Hollywood's new contract says

The deal covers film, television and streaming work and runs for four years rather than the usual three, from 1 July 2026 until 30 June 2030. When voting closed on 4 June, 91.42 per cent of the members who took part had backed it, although only around one in five eligible members returned a ballot. SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin said the agreement "strengthens protections around artificial intelligence and digital identity".

The central provision deals with what the industry calls synthetic performers, meaning characters created entirely by generative AI rather than digital copies of a real actor.

Under a memorandum attached to the contract, producers have said they do not intend to use one in a human role unless it brings "significant additional value" to the production, judged against a live actor or a digital replica of one. Union leaders have argued that this threshold, together with the contract's other provisions, will keep the use of AI performers to a minimum.

The agreement also tightens the rules on digital replicas of real actors. Studios cannot use a replica to replace a performer during a strike, they need what the contract calls an "articulable business reason" before scanning someone to create one, and there are further protections covering replicas of children.

Why the rules matter now

These terms build on the settlement that ended the 2023 Hollywood actors' strike, which halted production from July to November that year and made consent and payment for digital replicas one of the defining issues of the dispute. Since then the debate has become far less theoretical.

Tilly Norwood, the AI-generated "actress" unveiled in 2025, was swiftly condemned by SAG-AFTRA, and SoaplandTV has looked in detail at how the Tilly Norwood character is really made. The "significant additional value" test is Hollywood's first contractual answer to the question of when a studio may cast a performer who does not exist.

Where British actors stand

None of the American terms applies to productions made in the UK, where the equivalent talks are between the performers' union Equity and Pact, the trade body for independent film and television producers.

Their agreement sets minimum pay and conditions for actors, dancers, singers and stunt performers, was last negotiated in 2021, and has stalled over AI. Equity has asked for a framework modelled on the protections SAG-AFTRA won in 2023, covering consent, payment and transparency.

By the end of 2025 both sides were reporting progress on digital replicas and synthetic performers, but they remained apart on whether performers' recordings and scans could be used to train AI systems.

That disagreement led Equity to hold an indicative ballot in December 2025, asking members who work in film and television whether they would refuse to be digitally scanned on set.

When the result was announced in January, 99.6 per cent had voted yes. Pact, which has said that most productions do not scan their casts and that its offer was in line with terms agreed in other countries, sent Equity improved wording later that month. Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming credited members with securing the better offer but said it "doesn't cover everything we've asked for", and the two sides agreed to a further period of negotiation.

What it could mean for soap stars

Britain's biggest soaps sit slightly apart from those talks. EastEnders is made in-house by the BBC, while Coronation Street and Emmerdale are made by ITV Studios, and Equity negotiates separate agreements with each broadcaster for their in-house productions.

Any settlement with Pact would therefore not automatically extend to the casts of Albert Square or Weatherfield, which makes the broadcasters' own discussions with Equity just as important for the actors fans watch every week.

The next development to watch is whether Equity and Pact can turn their long negotiation into a signed agreement, and whether a British deal follows Hollywood in setting a clear test for when a synthetic performer may be used.

Until then, the American contract stands as the most detailed written statement yet of how far the screen industry is prepared to let AI into roles that have always belonged to people.