Can You Use AI Images or Voices in Your Business Without Getting Sued?

AI-generated content is transforming how small businesses and creators produce ads, videos, and marketing materials. With tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and ElevenLabs, you can create realistic voices, professional graphics, and digital models in minutes — often for free or at very low cost. But while AI can boost creativity and efficiency, it also raises legal and ethical risks that business owners can’t afford to ignore.

The most common legal problems happen when businesses use AI to mimic a real person’s likeness, voice, or style without permission — especially if that content is used for commercial gain. Fortunately, with a few precautions, you can use AI tools responsibly and reduce your legal exposure significantly.

Why AI Images and Voices Can Be Legally Complicated

At first glance, generating a voiceover or image with AI seems harmless. But behind the scenes, these tools often train on massive datasets that include real people’s photos, videos, or recordings. When the output resembles someone recognizable — even unintentionally — it can raise legal issues under several doctrines, including:

• Right of Publicity: Protects a person’s name, image, or voice from being used for commercial purposes without consent.
• False Endorsement (under Trademark Law): Occurs when content implies that a person or celebrity supports a product or service they have no connection to.
• Defamation or Misrepresentation: If AI-generated content damages someone’s reputation or creates a misleading impression.
• Copyright Infringement: Rare, but possible if AI reproduces copyrighted material too closely from its training data.

Each of these areas can lead to costly disputes — even if the content was generated by an AI tool rather than a human designer.

When AI Use Is Generally Safer

AI can be a powerful tool for legitimate business use when it’s applied to create original, generic, or synthetic content that doesn’t reference identifiable individuals. These scenarios are typically lower risk:

• Generic stock-style images: AI images that depict imaginary people or objects for use in blogs, ads, or websites.
• Non-identifiable synthetic voices: Using voice generation tools that create unique, neutral-sounding narrators without resembling any real person.
• Abstract or fictional artwork: Logos, product illustrations, or marketing visuals that don’t imitate known brands or individuals.
• Content you’ve trained or customized: If you train an AI model on your own data (such as your brand’s product images), you retain much more control over the results and ownership rights.

In these cases, the AI functions more like a creative assistant than an impersonator — helping you scale your content production safely and efficiently.

When AI Use Becomes Risky

On the other hand, using AI to imitate or reference real people — even in small ways — can quickly cross into risky legal territory. This is especially true for commercial or promotional content.

• Imitating a real person’s voice: Using voice cloning technology to recreate a celebrity’s or public figure’s voice without consent can violate the right of publicity and even state impersonation laws.
• Creating realistic images of identifiable people: Even if it’s “AI art,” depicting someone’s likeness in a commercial ad without permission can lead to a lawsuit.
• Implying endorsement or sponsorship: Using an AI-generated likeness in marketing materials can mislead consumers into thinking a real person approved or supports your brand.
• Using AI content from unclear sources: Many free AI tools have vague terms of service about data ownership — meaning you might not actually have the rights to use what you generate.

One example: In 2024, several voice actors raised concerns that their recorded performances were cloned by AI companies without consent. Similar issues have affected musicians, models, and influencers whose likenesses were synthesized into unauthorized promotional content.

Best Practices for Small Businesses and Creators

To stay legally safe — and ethically responsible — when using AI-generated media, follow these best practices:

• 1. Read and understand tool licenses: Before using AI content commercially, review the platform’s terms of service. Some licenses only allow personal use or require attribution.
• 2. Avoid realistic depictions of real people: Even if your AI tool can generate photo-realistic faces, stick to synthetic or fictional representations.
• 3. Disclose AI use when appropriate: If you’re using AI to create voiceovers or customer-facing materials, transparency builds trust and reduces reputational risk.
• 4. Keep records of your creation process: Document the tools, prompts, and outputs you use in case you ever need to prove authorship or intent.
• 5. Combine AI with human oversight: Always have a person review AI-generated outputs before publication to catch potential ethical or legal red flags.

These steps not only help reduce liability but also demonstrate professionalism and respect for digital rights — qualities that customers increasingly expect from ethical brands.

Copyright Ownership of AI-Generated Content

One common question is whether you “own” the copyright to something created by AI. Under current U.S. law, only works created by a human author can receive copyright protection. That means purely AI-generated material — with no human input or modification — may not be legally protectable. However, if you significantly edit or curate the AI output, your contribution could qualify as a copyrightable work.

For businesses, that means it’s smart to treat AI content as a starting point rather than a finished product. Add human creativity, context, and editing to strengthen both originality and legal defensibility.

Emerging Regulations and Future Trends

Several U.S. states and federal agencies are developing laws to regulate how AI-generated content can be used in commerce. These include:

• AI labeling requirements: Proposed rules may soon require disclosure when AI-generated content is used in advertising or media.
• Voice and likeness protection laws: States like Tennessee and California have passed or proposed bills protecting people from AI impersonation and synthetic voice misuse.
• FTC enforcement: The Federal Trade Commission has warned businesses against using deceptive or misleading AI content in marketing campaigns.

As these regulations evolve, staying informed and transparent will be essential for compliance. Businesses that adopt ethical AI policies early will not only reduce legal risks but also gain a competitive advantage with consumers who value honesty and responsibility.

Final Takeaway

Using AI in your business doesn’t have to be risky — but it does require mindfulness. The safest approach is to focus on creating original, fictional, or generic content; disclose AI use where appropriate; and avoid imitating any real person’s likeness or voice without permission. Treat AI as a creative assistant, not a replacement for ethical judgment.

Handled responsibly, AI can enhance your brand, streamline your operations, and inspire innovation — all without crossing legal lines.