Industry view · 27 July 2026 · 8 min read
AI Production in 2026: Why Model and Talent Agencies Need to Be Ready
After 30 years in the industry, I am still on the side of real shoots — and that is exactly why agencies need to shape how AI-assisted production works.
By Tessa Dewing
I have worked in the modelling and talent industry for more than 30 years, and I am still firmly on the side of real shoots.
I believe in the value of people being in a room together, creating something properly. A good shoot is not just about the final image. It is about the model or actor responding to direction, the photographer noticing something unexpected, the client changing their mind because they have seen a better idea in front of them, and the whole team shaping the work as they go.
That is the part of production I love, and I do not see it disappearing.
At the same time, I think we have to be realistic about the way AI is developing and how quickly it is becoming part of commercial production.
There are already fully AI-generated campaigns and there will undoubtedly be more of them. But in the mainstream commercial space, I think the more likely use, certainly for a while, will be AI working alongside traditional production rather than replacing it completely.
That is where I see the real opportunity.
A campaign may still begin with a proper shoot, using real talent and a real creative team, but AI can then help extend the work. It might be used to create additional formats, adapt the campaign for different markets, produce approved variations or build more content from the original material.
For many brands, that will be far more useful than simply replacing the entire production process. It gives them more flexibility without removing the people who made the work valuable in the first place.
Through Sandra Reynolds, I am already seeing the conversation change. Brands, advertising agencies, casting directors and production companies are no longer only asking whether AI is good enough. They are asking how they can use it properly.
They want to know where they can find real models and actors who are open to AI-assisted production. They want to understand what permissions are needed, how usage should be negotiated and how they can be confident that the person in the final content has knowingly agreed to be there.
More and more, they are looking to agencies to bring them the solution. That feels completely logical to me.
There is no shortage of AI technology. What clients need is a reliable way to use it with real people, clear permissions and proper commercial oversight. That is already what agencies do.
We know who we represent. We understand their careers, their existing commitments, their boundaries and their commercial value. We negotiate what they are being booked to do, where the work can be used, for how long and for what fee.
AI changes the production method, but it does not remove the need for those conversations. In fact, it makes them more important.
A model or actor could now be shown in a location they never visited, wearing something they never wore or saying words they never actually said. A relatively small amount of source material could be used to create a large amount of new content.
That creates opportunity, but it also means the boundaries of the booking have to be much clearer. Permission for one campaign should not quietly become permission for unlimited future use. Agreement to create one piece of content should not automatically allow someone to train a wider AI system. A model or actor should not lose control of their likeness simply because the technology makes it easy to create more.
None of this is a reason to avoid AI. It is a reason to manage it properly.
The same applies to brands. Most responsible clients do not want to use someone’s face or voice without proper permission. They do not want uncertainty over where the assets came from or whether the person understood what they had agreed to. They want to know that the talent is real, professionally represented and properly licensed for the work.
They also want consistency. If they book a particular model or actor, they want the result to look and feel like that person, not a loose AI interpretation of them.
That is why I believe agencies have such an important part to play. If a real person’s likeness is being used, their agency should remain involved. The talent should understand what is being proposed. The client should be clear about what they are booking. The usage should be agreed, and the assets should be handled in a controlled way.
Why Digital TwinSets™ began
When I first started looking into all of this, it was because I needed a solution for my own agency.
Clients were starting to ask questions. Talent were seeing AI clauses in contracts and wanting to understand what they meant. Production companies were exploring new ways of working but did not always know where to find people who had genuinely agreed to take part.
I could see the opportunity, but I could also see the gap. Simply sending high-quality images, video or voice files to different production companies did not feel like the right answer. Once those files had been downloaded and passed around, it would be very difficult to know who had them, where they were stored or what they might eventually be used to create.
We needed something that worked more like a professional booking. The talent chooses whether they want to take part. The agency remains involved. The client submits a brief. The intended use is agreed. The talent is properly licensed and paid.
That is how Digital TwinSets™ began.
Digital TwinSets™ is being developed as a platform for real, professionally represented models and actors who choose to participate in AI-assisted production. A TwinSet™ is a managed digital asset pack created from approved material belonging to a real person. The client is not buying or owning that person’s identity. They are booking a named model or actor for a specific, agreed purpose.
For talent, it means choice, control and professional representation. For agencies, it means remaining part of the relationship rather than handing over high-value assets and hoping for the best. For clients, it means having a reliable route to real people, with clear permissions and an accountable booking process.
The opportunity for agencies
As I have spoken to other agencies, casting directors, brands and production professionals, it has become obvious that this is not only an issue for Sandra Reynolds. Everyone is coming at it from a slightly different angle, but the need is broadly the same.
Brands want properly authorised real talent. Production teams want a clearer process. Casting directors want to know where to find people who are open to this kind of work. Agencies want to protect their models and actors while still being able to respond to client demand.
The technology itself will continue to change. The tools we use now may look completely different in a few years. Standards around provenance, content credentials, transparency, storage and labelling will continue to evolve as well. Digital TwinSets™ has to evolve with them.
What should not change are the basic principles behind it. The person should know what they are agreeing to. Their agency should remain involved. The use should be clearly defined. The assets should be controlled. The permissions should be recorded, and the talent should be paid.
Our value has never simply been that we hold a photograph of a model or actor.
We know the people we represent. We understand what work is right for them, what may create a conflict and what their image or performance is worth. Those skills are just as relevant to AI-assisted production as they are to a traditional shoot.
Agencies can become the trusted route through which clients access real, properly authorised digital talent. We can help brands understand what is possible, find the right person and structure the booking properly. We can also make sure talent are not left to navigate complicated technology and licensing agreements on their own.
The alternative is to ignore it and allow the market to develop without us. That will not stop AI production from happening. It will simply mean other companies step in and decide how digital likenesses should be created, controlled and valued. I would much rather agencies help shape that market from the beginning.
That does not mean every model or actor has to be involved. Some will be interested and some will not. Some may agree to visual content but not voice. Some may be comfortable with one brand or category and not another. That is all completely manageable when the process is clear. The important thing is that participation remains a choice and that the person behind the likeness stays part of the commercial relationship.
I believe the future of mainstream AI production will sit somewhere between the two extremes. There will be fully AI-generated work, and there will continue to be traditional shoots with no AI involvement at all. But much of the market will probably sit in the middle. Real shoots will create the original content, performances and creative material. AI will help adapt, extend and build on that work. Brands will gain more flexibility, and models and actors will have access to additional forms of paid work.
That is the sweet spot I see for Digital TwinSets™. It is not about choosing AI over real production. It is about finding a responsible way for the two to work together.
AI production is already appearing in briefs, contracts and client conversations. The market is still being shaped, which is exactly why agencies need to be part of it now. We have an opportunity to establish better ways of working before poor practices become normal. We can give clients confidence, protect talent and make sure real people remain part of the value created by AI.
Real shoots will remain at the heart of our industry. AI will increasingly sit alongside them as another production tool. Our job is to make sure that, whenever a real person’s likeness is involved, the person themselves remains at the centre.