Can I use a real person's face, a founder or a celebrity in an AI ad?

Can I put myself or my founder in an AI ad?

Yes, with that person's real agreement, and you should have it in writing. Google's ad policy lists business founders and CEOs among public figures and asks advertisers to hold documented consent they can prove before using a name, image, video or voice to suggest an endorsement². A founder who agrees today can withdraw tomorrow, so the consent letter should say what the AI version may say and do, where it will run, for how long, and how the person can ask for it to come down.

A label may still be needed. ASCI requires one when a real person's face or voice is replicated, even with consent, for personalised messaging¹. On YouTube, making a real person appear to say or do something they did not must be disclosed for uploaded videos⁵. Meta shows an AI info label next to Sponsored on ads with an AI-generated photorealistic human made with its tools⁶.

The words matter as much as the face. ASCI prohibits using AI to create or attribute an endorsement that falsely says a real person used, approved or recommended a product¹. Do not script claims the person has not made.

Can I use a celebrity or a lookalike?

Not without their consent. ASCI prohibits deepfakes and likeness without consent whether or not a label is used¹. Google's policy gives AI-generated videos of popular YouTubers as an example of a misleading endorsement². A lookalike face or a soundalike voice that makes viewers think the real person endorsed your product meets the same objection: ASCI bars fabricated endorsements and Google targets any suggestion of endorsement.

The Delhi High Court has been active. These are interim orders reported by news outlets, not final judgments, and we have not read the orders themselves:

• Kajol, 20 February 2026: Justice Jyoti Singh barred use of her name, image, voice and likeness, including through deepfakes, AI-generated content and chatbots, with 72 hours for platforms to remove flagged content³.
• Baba Ramdev, February 2026: an interim order protecting his personality rights, covering AI-generated content and deepfakes, with false endorsements among the concerns and Google, Meta and X told to remove listed links within 72 hours⁷.
• Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, 9 September 2025: an interim injunction against exploiting her name and likeness through AI, deepfakes or face morphing⁸.
• Ravi Kishan, July 2026: an ex parte ad interim injunction against unauthorised use of his name, image and likeness through AI and deepfakes⁹.

What about customers, employees or any other real person?

The same logic applies: get explicit consent before you replicate anyone. HeyGen, an AI avatar vendor, requires the explicit consent of the individual being represented, lets that person ask for removal of their likeness at any time, and makes users responsible for honouring such requests¹⁰. That is a vendor's rule, but it is a sensible baseline for any tool.

An AI-generated person is not a customer. Do not present a generated face as someone who bought your product; ASCI prohibits fabricated testimonials even with a label¹.

Is there a law for personality rights in India?

Reports describe these rights as judicially recognised rather than set out in one statute, and LiveLaw's report of the Ravi Kishan order cites no statute⁹. That means outcomes depend on the facts and the court. The IT Rules add a platform-side layer: tools must use technical measures against synthetic content that falsely depicts a natural person's identity, voice, conduct or statements in a way likely to deceive⁴. If you are unsure, get a lawyer's view before you spend on production. This is general information, not legal advice.

What should I have in place before I publish?

A short pre-publish check for any ad with a real person's face or voice:

• Written consent that names AI use, the media, the territories and the duration.
• The script the person has approved, word for word.
• A label where the ad replicates a real person, following ASCI's examples¹.
• A record of the tool, the source images and the date.
• A named contact and a process to take the ad down quickly on request.
• No testimonial, endorsement or before-and-after result that did not happen.