In U.S. studio animation, the main written rule on generative AI is a new Article 21.N in the Animation Guild's 2024 agreement with the major studios, which lets producers require AI tools but keeps the artists who run them under the union contract. Machine learning has been part of animation pipelines for years, and the agreement draws a line between those older tools and generative systems that produce new images, text, or audio.
Key takeaways
- Article 21.N, in the Memorandum of Agreement dated August 1, 2024, defines generative AI and says producers may require employees to use AI systems.
- An employee who operates an AI system stays covered by the contract, and use of the system does not affect credit.
- Producers must give advance written notice to an employee who may be asked to use generative AI, and consult on request.
- A report cited by trade press says members approved the deal with 76.1 percent of the vote; the contract runs three years.
- Sony's Spider-Verse team and Netflix Japan used machine learning and AI image generation in different ways, and credits differed.
Machine learning in animation before generative AI
For Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Sony Pictures Imageworks wanted computer-animated characters with ink lines that looked hand drawn. Effects supervisor Pav Grochola wrote in fxguide on May 20, 2019, that rule-based methods such as toon shaders did not give the natural look the film needed. The team trained a model on about 600 frames of hand-drawn ink lines per character, drawn over turntable animations that varied camera angle and expression. The model predicted a first placement of lines for new poses, and artists then corrected it.
The detail matters for definitions. This was machine learning that assisted artists inside a drawing workflow. The 2024 agreement uses separate terms for machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI, and its text names Maya, Blender, Photoshop, Nuke, and Houdini as tools whose non-generative functions studios have long used and may keep using.
What the 2024 Animation Guild agreement says
The memorandum of agreement between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and The Animation Guild, Local 839 of the IATSE, adds Article 21.N. Its main terms, in plain language:
- Producers keep the right to use new technologies, and may require employees to use an AI system or its output on covered work.
- An employee who uses an AI system, including by writing prompts, remains covered by the agreement. The text says an AI system is not a person, and its use does not affect an employee's rights, including credit.
- Producers will not require prompts in a way that displaces a covered employee.
- Producers may require consent before an employee uses AI and may reject AI output, for example when it could harm copyrightability.
- An employee who might have to use generative AI gets advance written notice, and consultation on request, including a chance to identify alternative approaches.
- Writers must be told when material handed to them was produced by generative AI, and that material does not count toward credit.
- Producers indemnify employees for claims arising from authorized AI use, under stated conditions.
Training, meetings, and what the text leaves out
The article also creates a training committee, which is to meet within 90 days of ratification, to build programs for operating AI systems and moving into other job classifications. Each producer agrees to meet the union at least twice a year, if the union asks, to name significant emerging AI technologies it uses or plans to use. Agenda topics include job effects, bias, and the effect on entry-level hiring.
The text does not stop producers from using AI, and it does not address whether studios may train models on artists' work; the reviewed provisions contain no clause on that question. Trade coverage reported that the guild did not win those protections, and TheWrap reported on December 23, 2024, that 76.1 percent of voting members accepted the contract, which runs for three years.
A credited case: a short film with AI backgrounds
Netflix Japan released the short The Dog & the Boy on January 31, 2023, produced by Netflix Anime Creators Base with Wit Studio in production support and the company rinna handling AI development. Anime News Network reported that its backgrounds were credited only as "AI (+Human)," without naming who made the concept art or finished the images, and that Netflix described the project as a response to a lack of manpower in the industry. The case shows a labeling question that the Guild text answers for its own members: who is credited when a tool generates part of a frame.
Reading AI claims about animation
| Claim you may see | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| "AI made this film" | Which stages used it: concept, backgrounds, in-betweens, lines, or voices? |
| "Artists are protected" | By what document: a union contract, a law, or a company policy? |
| "AI cuts production time" | Measured by whom, and on which task? |
| "The work is copyrighted" | Which part is human-authored, and has the registration office reviewed it? |
This article describes a labor agreement and public production credits. It is general information, not legal advice about any contract or copyright question.
FAQ
Does the Animation Guild contract ban generative AI?
No. Producers may use new technologies, and may require employees to use AI systems, with notice and consultation duties and credit protections.
Is every use of AI in animation generative AI?
No. The contract separates machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI, and lets studios keep using older digital tools. The Spider-Verse line system was machine learning that suggested ink lines for artists to fix.
Does the agreement cover AI training on artists' work?
The provisions reviewed do not address it, and trade reports said the guild did not win a training opt-out.
Who is covered?
Employees of the producers that are part of the multi-employer bargaining unit with Local 839, which is the group of studios and streamers listed in the agreement.
Related reading
- AI tools for animators
- Copyright and AI-generated content
- AI text generators in content work
- How AI systems are built
More in AI Tools and Industry.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Memorandum of Agreement of August 1, 2024 between Producer and The Animation Guild and Affiliated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839, IATSE (executed version dated December 2, 2024), The Animation Guild
- Ink Lines and Machine Learning, Pav Grochola, fxguide, May 20, 2019
- Wit Studio produces The Dog and the Boy anime short with AI-generated backgrounds, Anime News Network, February 2, 2023
- Animation Guild Ratifies New Contract With Studios and Streamers, Increasing Protections From AI, TheWrap, December 23, 2024