NEW YORK—XR (Extreme Reach) has announced what it is billing as a first-of-its-kind solution for paying AI-generated performers in ads.
At a time when advertisers are increasingly using AI replicas of actors or AI created characters, the payments system is designed to offer ethical, compliant AI talent payments aligned with the new the 2025 SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract, XR reported.
XR's platform is built to support AI performances in advertising without disrupting the underlying systems that govern celebrity and talent rights and compensation. While AI performances such as de-aging and likeness recreation have historically been reserved for big budget film and television series, their rapid adoption in advertising introduces new operational and compliance challenges.
To address those trends, XR has innovated its platform to fully support two new SAG-AFTRA performer categories, Digital Replicas and Synthetic Performers, giving brands and agencies the compliant, scalable payment infrastructure they need to move fast and stay ahead.
“AI is going to fundamentally change how celebrities and synthetic talent are portrayed in advertising, and agencies, brands, and talent agents must be ready to support this shift,” said Tim Hale, managing director, XR Pay. “The rules around Digital Replicas and Synthetic Performers are new territory for everyone in advertising and XR is here to help our brand and agency clients navigate this complexity, ensuring celebrity rights are protected, everyone gets paid correctly, and that all SAG-AFTRA obligations are met.”
For Digital Replicas, which SAG-AFTRA defines as AI-generated or AI-modified performances tied to a real performer, XR's platform will handle payments to performers or their estates under existing SAG-AFTRA structures, just as if they had appeared in the ad in-person. This covers a wide range of emerging use cases: from living celebrity actors whose performances are enhanced or remixed by AI, to iconic performers no longer with us whose estates have approved their Digital Replicas for use in advertising.
By contrast, for Synthetic Performers, AI-generated performers with no connection to a real person (living or deceased), XR ensures that equivalent compensation is directed to the SAG-AFTRA Pension and Health funds, in accordance with union requirements.
XR’s platform addresses the rapid adoption of AI in production by embedding AI performer classification and payment logic directly into existing workflows, enabling brands, agencies and production partners to scale AI usage with confidence. Additionally, XR Metadata will classify Digital Replicas and Synthetic Performers accordingly, ensuring talent rights are tracked from production to ad delivery.
New capabilities include:
