Guide · Choosing a tool
Real licensed models vs synthetic AI models
Every AI imagery tool can now put a human-looking figure in your product photos. The question your legal team will ask is different: who is that, and where is their release?
The one-sentence difference
Synthetic virtual models have no human subject to grant a personal likeness release, so their provenance rests on training-data rights, resemblance risk and output provenance the vendor must manage. AI imagery of a real licensed model is a photograph-grade render of an actual person who signed, sets the terms, sees every use, and is paid. Generation is a commodity; the right to use the image is the product.
Side by side
| Synthetic virtual models | Real licensed models | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in the image | An intended fictional identity; unintended resemblance is still possible | A real, signed model with a canonical reference kit |
| Model release | No human subject to sign a personal likeness release; the vendor manages training-data, resemblance and provenance risk instead | Exists for every image: signed, scoped, paid |
| Likeness-law exposure | Review resemblance risk and the vendor's terms | Written permission covers a defined likeness and use, not every possible campaign |
| AI disclosure | Assess the applicable rules and publishing context | Consent does not remove applicable AI-disclosure duties |
| Face consistency across a campaign | Depends on the tool and reference workflow | Guided by a reference kit; final results still need review |
| Exclusivity | Depends on the vendor's contractual offer | Available only within the scope and terms agreed for the talent |
| Who gets paid | Depends on the vendor's licensing and contributor arrangements | Talent receives the agreed share of licensed use or a negotiated campaign fee |
When synthetic is fine, and when it isn’t
For a solo reseller listing thrifted pieces, a synthetic figure on a packshot is usually fine, nobody is reading the campaign as a brand statement, and the legal surface is small. The math changes the moment a brand with a reputation runs the image: commercial use of a face traditionally requires a release; regulators from New York to Brussels are codifying scoped, paid consent; and platforms increasingly auto-label AI content, putting your disclosure in front of every customer. At that point the question isn’t whether AI imagery is cheaper, it’s which kind your legal team can sign off and your customers can trust.
What Mirai is
Mirai licenses real people for AI: brands shoot campaigns with AI likenesses of real, signed models. Every use is licensed inside the model's signed scope, and the model is paid per use. Mirai keeps server-side consent and licensing records today; machine-readable content credentials and public verification pages are in development and not yet in every licensed download.