Generative AI is already part of everyday life for many marketing teams: product images, social media videos, ads, voiceovers, banners, avatars and creative variations in multiple languages. The question is no longer whether a company can produce content with AI; it has become a different one: what can it publish with reasonable confidence.
The short answer is that a company can use generative AI in marketing, but not everything a tool allows you to generate is automatically publishable. You have to review licenses, image rights, voice, trademarks, famous people, personal data and the terms of use of each platform.
This article offers a practical guide for marketing, ecommerce and leadership teams that already work — or want to start working — with AI audiovisual production, AI product photography or digital avatars.
Important notice:this content is for informational purposes only and does not replace legal advice from a lawyer specialized in intellectual property, advertising, data protection or image rights.
1. What a company can legally use #
A company can use AI-generated content in marketing when it has the right to use the tool for commercial purposes, controls the input materials, avoids copying protected works or recognizable identities without permission and documents the necessary approvals before publishing. The key is not only the final result, but also how it was generated.
In practice, an AI-generated campaign usually rests on four layers of rights:
The tool’s license: what the AI provider’s terms allow.** The input materials**: photos, videos, logos, music, voices, designs, prompts or references you feed into the system.** The generated output**: image, video, audio, text, avatar or creative variation.** The specific advertising use**: channel, country, duration, targeting, media spend and association with the brand.
A simple case would be generating neutral backgrounds for your own product from photographs taken by the company. The risk is usually low if the tool allows commercial use and the product belongs to the brand. A more sensitive case would be asking the AI for an ad “in the aesthetic of a specific film”, using an avatar resembling a celebrity and a cloned voice. Even if the file was generated from scratch, it may infringe third-party rights.
Basic good practices
- Use AI accounts and plans suitable for business use, not unreviewed personal accounts.
- Keep invoices, relevant terms of use and screenshots of the license applicable on the production date.
- Avoid prompts that ask to copy living artists, recognizable campaigns, protected characters or third-party brands.
- Document which materials were uploaded to the tool and who held rights over them.
- Keep a human approval step before publishing paid campaigns or high-reach pieces.
2. Commercial licenses for image, video and voice tools #
Not all AI tools grant the same rights. Some allow commercial use on free plans, others reserve it for paid plans, others restrict sensitive sectors, and many update their terms frequently.
Before using a tool for campaigns, review these points:
Commercial use: confirm whether you can use the output in ads, ecommerce, social ads, email marketing, landing pages and corporate materials.Ownership or license of the output: some platforms talk about ownership, others about a usage license. What matters is knowing what you can do with the piece.Indemnification or enterprise protection: some enterprise plans offer additional guarantees against claims, but they do not cover everything.** Content restrictions**: sectors such as health, finance, politics, minors, gambling, alcohol or comparative claims may have extra rules.** Use of data for training**: verify whether the prompts, images, videos or voices you upload can be used to improve models.** Rights over stock assets**: templates, music, library images, predefined avatars or synthetic voices may carry their own limits.
In AI product photography, for example, it is common to start from real product photos and generate backgrounds, lifestyle scenes and variations for marketplaces. There you should confirm that the tool allows commercial use of the output and that the company holds rights over the base photos.
In video and voice, the analysis needs to be even stricter: music, voiceover, avatars, subtitles, dubbing and reference material may come from different providers, each with its own terms.
3. Image rights in avatars and voice cloning #
Digital avatars and voice cloning are among the most powerful uses of generative AI, but also among the most legally sensitive. A person’s image, voice, name and other identifiable traits may be protected even if the video is synthetic.
If the avatar or voice is based on a real person — founder, employee, customer, actor, creator or spokesperson — the company should hold an express authorization. That authorization should cover, at a minimum:
- Use of image, voice and identifiable traits.
- Purpose: advertising, training, sales, support, internal content or corporate communication.
- Channels: web, social media, paid media, email, events, apps or third-party platforms.
- Duration of the license and territories where it will be published.
- Languages, dubbing, edits, cuts and new AI-generated versions.
- Right of review, approval, revocation or withdrawal where appropriate.
- Financial compensation and usage limits, especially when external talent is involved.
It is also worth distinguishing between three types of avatar:
Stock avatar: a character offered by a platform, with its own license.** Original synthetic avatar**: does not represent a specific real person.** Avatar based on a real person**: requires consent and more detailed documentation.
In public campaigns, avoid a synthetic avatar looking like a recognizable real person if no authorization exists. The argument “it is not exactly that person” is rarely a good brand defense if the audience can identify the reference.
4. Use of trademarks, famous people and protected products #
AI can generate images that appear to include well-known brands, designer products, characters, celebrities or protected styles. The fact that a tool can do it does not mean your company can use it in advertising.
Third-party brands and products
Using logos, packaging, interfaces, vehicles, sneakers, devices or recognizable products of another company can create problems if it suggests sponsorship, collaboration, unauthorized comparison or free-riding on someone else’s reputation. Before publishing, ask:
- Does a third-party brand appear visibly?
- Could it seem that this brand endorses or participates in the campaign?
- Is a protected product being used as the central element of the creative?
- Does the piece compare your product with another without a verifiable basis?
- Are there specific requirements from the advertising platform for that type of claim?
Famous people and recognizable characters
Avoid prompts like “do it with the face of…”, “with the voice of…”, “in the exact style of…” or “as if it were endorsed by…” when the reference is a real person, a protected character or a recognizable commercial identity. In advertising, the reputational risk is usually as important as the legal one.
Creative styles and protected works
Drawing inspiration from general visual trends is different from replicating a specific work, campaign or creative universe. A good practice is to work with your own moodboards, broad references and original art direction, instead of asking the AI to copy a recognizable piece.
5. Checklist before publishing AI-generated campaigns #
Use this checklist as a pre-flight control before publishing a campaign generated fully or partially with AI.
Licenses and tools
- The tool allows commercial use for the contracted plan.
- Restrictions by sector, country, channel and campaign type have been reviewed.
- Evidence of the license, generation date and provider has been saved.
- The team knows whether uploaded data can be used for training.
Input materials
- The company holds rights over photos, videos, audio, logos, music and documents used as input.
- No personal, confidential or sensitive data has been uploaded without a legal basis and adequate safeguards.
- Prompts do not ask to copy recognizable works, campaigns, characters or people.
People, voice and image
- There is documented consent for any real person represented, cloned or identifiable.
- The consent covers channels, duration, territories, languages and AI editing.
- The piece does not suggest nonexistent testimonials, presence or endorsement.
Trademarks and intellectual property
- No third-party brands, logos, products or interfaces appear without a legitimate reason.
- The audience is not misled about collaborations, sponsorships or comparisons.
- The creative does not substantially reproduce a recognizable campaign, character, work or style.
Advertising, claims and approval
- Commercial claims are verifiable.
- The images do not exaggerate product features the customer will not receive.
- There is a human review before publishing.
- A record of versions, approvals and final assets is kept.
6. Disclaimer: this does not replace legal advice #
This article is not legal advice. The applicable regulations may vary depending on the country, sector, advertising channel, type of data, provider contracts and scope of the campaign. Before launching high-impact campaigns, international campaigns, pieces featuring real people, cloned voices, minors, sensitive claims or third-party brands, consult a specialized lawyer.
The safest way to work is not to hold back AI, but to integrate it into a process with controls: briefing, generation, creative review, legal review where appropriate, approval and traceability.
7. How to integrate legal review into an AI marketing workflow #
To keep the review from blocking the team’s speed, it is worth turning it into a simple operating system:
Briefing templates with mandatory fields: tool, inputs, references, channels, countries and campaign objective.Library of approved providers with plans, licenses, restrictions and internal owners.Risk traffic light: low for generic backgrounds and own product; medium for synthetic voice, human models or claims; high for real avatars, celebrities, minors, health, finance or third-party brands.Approval by exception: the team publishes low-risk pieces with a checklist; legal reviews medium- or high-risk pieces.** Campaign archive**with relevant prompts, final versions, licenses, consents and approvals.
This approach lets you keep the speed of AI audiovisual production without turning every banner into a legal project.
Next step #
If you want to launch AI-generated campaigns without improvising the process, we can help you design a safe workflow for your team: product photography, advertising videos, voiceovers, translations, avatars and paid media pieces with human review and documented permissions. Start with a controlled test — for example, a batch of ecommerce creatives or a video with a synthetic avatar — and validate the process before scaling it to big campaigns.