Ask who has to approve the work. If nobody outside your team signs off, a generated actor is the right default — no real person is depicted, so no likeness obligation exists. If a client, a broadcaster or a legal reviewer has to approve it, a licensed human creator gives you a documented position instead of a convincing image. That's the whole decision.
This gets framed as a quality question and it isn't one. Both routes produce a face on screen. What differs is what you can prove about it.
What's actually different?
Not the output. The paperwork behind it.
A generated actor is a persona built from a text description. Nobody real is depicted, which means there's no consent to obtain, no payment to structure, and nobody who can later object. The rights position is that there isn't one.
A licensed human creator is a real person who submitted their own likeness. On Hexcoded they've passed a liveness check and a face-match, their consent is recorded as a timestamped acceptance of the actor licence, and they earn every time a paying brand generates with them. When you cast, you're shown a consent-verified receipt.
So one option has nothing to prove and the other has everything documented. The awkward middle — a face you can't account for — is the position to avoid.
Ask who signs off. If it's only you, generate. If it's someone else, licence.
Which one for which project?
Five project types, and the answer is fairly consistent within each.
| Project | Which one | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Personal or spec work | Generated actor | Nobody is approving a rights position. The licensing cost buys you nothing here |
| A scripted series you own | Generated actor | Recurring leads need continuity more than they need consent. A saved reference does that, and can't withdraw |
| Client-delivered advertising | Licensed human creator | Somebody has to approve the work, and "no real person is depicted" is harder to evidence than a consent receipt |
| Anything with a testimonial framing | Licensed human creator | A synthetic persona presented as endorsing something is a deception exposure rather than a likeness one |
| Product or voiceover-led commerce video | Neither — faceless | The product carries the piece, and in Make a Custom Video faceless avoids the actor credit surcharge |
Source: Hexcoded actor library, Terms of Service and pricing page, checked September 2026. Legal requirements vary by jurisdiction.
Where this falls short. Row two will feel wrong to anyone who assumes a real face is always the safer option. For a seventy-episode arc it isn't — a licensed creator can stop new use at any time, and a generated actor can't. More on that below.
What does a generated actor cost you?
Three things, and only one is about rights.
No verifiable identity. You can say nobody real is depicted. Proving it means producing your generation inputs, and that record either exists from the start or doesn't exist at all.
Accidental resemblance is your exposure. A generated character can resemble a real person without any reference to them. Identifiability is assessed on the output rather than on your intent, so intent isn't a defence by itself.
No verified presence. Where a piece depends on a viewer believing a real person is speaking, a generated actor is doing something a licensed one isn't. That's a creative and an ethical question rather than a legal one, and it's worth being deliberate about.
What does a licensed performer cost you?
Four things, and two of them surprise people.
A plan tier. Real human actors sit above the entry plan. If your budget is at that level, this route isn't available without upgrading.
Money per render. Creators earn every time a paying brand generates with their likeness. There's no fixed rate card and the amount is shown in their own dashboard. For a high-volume series that's a running cost rather than a one-off.
A narrower licence. Digital only — paid ads and organic posts on online platforms, plus your own websites and apps. Television, print and outdoor need a separate written agreement. And light edits only: no re-generating, morphing or re-voicing a face outside the platform. That last one is listed as a prohibited use, not merely a breach.
And withdrawal. This is the one that matters most for a series.
Recasting mid-arc in a continuous series is a visible break rather than a fix. Which is why the safer-looking option is sometimes the riskier one, and why row two of the table above says what it says.
Can you use both?
Yes, and most productions should.
The tiers aren't exclusive and mixing them is normal rather than a compromise. A licensed creator delivering to camera with generated actors filling the room behind them is a standard configuration — you're paying for verified presence only where it's on screen and being evaluated.
The library is shared across all four tools and everything you save takes a handle, so a mixed cast is a single cast list rather than two workflows.
The general shape: licence the faces a reviewer will look at, generate the rest.
Licence the faces someone will scrutinise. Generate the rest.
What about your own face?
A third option, and it has the cleanest paperwork of any.
Uploading your own photograph makes you the depicted person and the consenting party at once. No licence to negotiate, no payment to structure, no withdrawal risk from anyone but you.
Two caveats. It's still a likeness — of you — so it carries the same obligations you'd owe anyone else, which matters if you ever hand the business on. And there's no consent step when you upload a face, which is fine for your own photograph and the reason it's a discipline rather than a gate for anyone else's.
How do you decide?
Four questions. The first that gives you a yes settles it.
Does anyone outside your team approve this?
A client, a broadcaster, a legal reviewer, a platform partner. If yes, licence — a consent receipt answers a question your own assurance doesn't.
Is the piece asking a viewer to trust a person?
A testimonial, a recommendation, an expert framing. That's a deception exposure rather than a likeness one, and a real consenting person is the answer.
Will this character appear across many episodes?
Then withdrawal risk is a real planning consideration, and a generated actor with a saved handle can't withdraw. Weigh that against whatever the licensed route buys you.
Does anyone need to be on screen at all?
Faceless is right more often than people expect, and in Make a Custom Video it also avoids the actor credit surcharge.
Current as of the publication date. Actor library capabilities, plan features and licence terms change. Hexcoded's terms and actor licence are governed by the laws of India, with jurisdiction in Gurugram, Haryana. Nothing here is legal advice.
- Ask who signs off. If it's only you, generate. If it's someone else, licence
- A generated actor carries no likeness obligation, because no real person is depicted
- A licensed creator gives you a documented position — liveness check passed, timestamped consent, payment on every render
- Licensed creators need a plan above the entry tier. Budget-level work may not have the option
- The licence is digital only and light edits only. Broadcast and external post work are both outside it
- A licensed creator can stop new use at any time. Delivered episodes stay valid; new ones don't
- For a long series, that makes a generated lead the more stable choice, not the riskier one
- Mix them. Licence the faces a reviewer will scrutinise, generate the rest, and use faceless where the product carries it
Ask who approves the work. If nobody outside your team signs off, a generated actor is the right default — no real person is depicted, so no likeness obligation exists. If a client, broadcaster or legal reviewer has to approve it, a licensed creator gives you a documented position instead.
Not the output — the paperwork. A generated actor depicts nobody, so there's no consent, no payment and nobody who can object. A licensed creator has passed a liveness check and face-match, consented on a timestamped record, and earns on every render.
No. For a long-running series a licensed creator can stop new use of their likeness at any time, which means your lead could become uncastable mid-arc. A generated actor saved as a reference can't withdraw, which makes it the more stable choice for continuity.
Yes, in two ways. They need a plan above the entry tier, and they earn every time a paying brand generates with their likeness — so for a high-volume series it's a running cost rather than a one-off.
Yes, and most productions should. The library is shared across all four tools and everything saves with a handle, so a mixed cast is one cast list. Licence the faces a reviewer will look at and generate the rest.
Cleanest paperwork of any option — you're the depicted person and the consenting party at once, with no licence to negotiate and no withdrawal risk from anyone but you. It's still a likeness of you, so it carries the same obligations you'd owe anyone else.
Generate, licence, or neither
AI actors with no real-world counterpart, human creators with consent verified and payment on every render, or faceless where the product carries the piece. One library, one credit balance, and everything saves with a handle.
See the actor libraryMore on characters, consent and reusable elements in Elements.