Skip to main content
You can license a real person’s likeness for your AI-generated ads. Not stock footage. Not a lookalike. The actual athlete, musician, or influencer — with their permission, at a transparent price. The Ad Context Protocol (AdCP) connects buyers to talent rights through a standard that AI media buyers already speak. You describe what you need, the protocol finds who is available, and you get scoped credentials that let your creative tools generate ads featuring licensed talent.

​
How it works, from your side

Imagine you run Bistro Oranje, a steakhouse in Amsterdam, and you want a local celebrity in your next campaign. Here is what the process looks like:
  1. You describe what you need. You (or your AI media buyer) search for “Dutch athlete available for food brands in the Netherlands.” You can include your budget, preferred rights types (likeness, voice, endorsement), and campaign geography.
  2. The system returns matches with pricing. Results come back ranked by relevance: Daan Janssen, Olympic speed skater, available for food brands in the Netherlands. Two pricing options — EUR 3.50 CPM or EUR 350/month flat rate with up to 100,000 impressions.
  3. You select the option that fits your budget and submit a request. Your request includes what you want to create, which formats, what countries, how many impressions, and for how long. This is a binding contractual request.
  4. The talent’s agency reviews and approves. The agency checks your request against the talent’s preferences and existing contracts. If another food brand already holds exclusivity in the Netherlands, your request is rejected automatically. If it clears, you receive terms.
If a rejection includes suggestions — alternative markets, different dates, adjusted scope — your agent can revise the request and resubmit. If there are no suggestions, the rejection is final for that talent and campaign combination. Agencies manage confidential rules (legal constraints, internal policies, public figure guidelines) that are not always appropriate to disclose — your agent understands the difference and will either adjust or move on.
  1. You receive generation credentials. These are scoped keys that allow specific AI providers (image generators, voice synthesis tools) to produce content featuring the licensed talent. The credentials expire when the contract ends.
  2. Every impression is tracked. Usage is reported back to the rights holder for billing and cap enforcement. If you hit your impression cap, generation stops until you renegotiate.

​
What you get

When a rights acquisition is approved, your creative tools receive everything they need to produce and distribute the campaign:
  • AI-generated ads featuring licensed talent. Video, display, and audio — whatever formats you requested. The talent’s likeness and voice are generated by AI providers who verify your credentials before producing content.
  • Scoped generation credentials. Keys that work with specific providers (e.g., Midjourney for likeness, ElevenLabs for voice). Any creative agent can use them. The provider enforces the scope — you cannot generate outside your license terms.
  • A rights constraint for your creative manifest. This travels with the ad through the supply chain, proving the content is licensed and describing its boundaries.
  • Disclosure text. Provided for you, ready to attach to the creative: “Features AI-generated likeness of Daan Janssen, used under license from Loti Entertainment.”

​
What it costs

Pricing is set by the talent’s agency, not by an auction. You see the price before you commit. Two common models:
  • CPM — Pay per impression. At EUR 3.50 CPM, 50,000 impressions cost EUR 175 in rights fees.
  • Flat monthly rate — A fixed fee per month with an impression cap. At EUR 350/month with a 100,000 impression cap, a 3-month local campaign costs EUR 1,050 in rights fees, plus your creative production and media spend.
Exclusivity is available as a premium option. If you want to be the only restaurant using Daan Janssen’s likeness in the Netherlands, the agency can grant that — and the protocol automatically rejects competing requests for the duration of your contract.

​
What you control

Every license is scoped along four dimensions, and you know the boundaries before you sign:
  • Geographic scope. A license for the Netherlands does not cover Germany. If you expand your campaign, you renegotiate.
  • Format scope. A license for video does not grant audio rights. Each use type (likeness, voice, name, endorsement) is independently licensed.
  • Time scope. Licenses have hard expiration dates. When the contract ends, generation credentials stop working. No manual cleanup required.
  • Content restrictions. The talent’s agency defines what is acceptable — categories, contexts, modification limits. These restrictions are part of the license terms, visible to you upfront.

​
How to get started

  1. If you work with an agency, ask if they use an AdCP-compatible buying platform. Many media agencies already have access to rights discovery and licensing through their existing tools.
  2. If you buy direct, visit the AgenticAdvertising.org member directory to find a platform partner. Member organizations build the tools that connect buyers to talent rights.
  3. The platform handles search, negotiation, and credential management. You approve the creative, set your budget, and define your campaign parameters. The platform translates that into protocol calls, manages the rights acquisition, and delivers generation credentials to your creative tools.

​
Next steps

get_rights

Search for licensable talent with pricing and availability.

acquire_rights

Submit a binding request and receive generation credentials.

Brand protocol overview

How brand.json and rights discovery fit together.