The 99th Oscars ceremony establishes eligibility rules targeting AI

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has banned AI-generated acting and writing from the 99th Oscars, requiring human-only eligible works.

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ratified on May 1, 2026, the rules for the 99th Academy Awards, which will honor feature films released theatrically between January 1 and December 31, 2026. Several adjustments directly address the uses of generative artificial intelligence in submitted works.

In the Acting category, only roles credited in the film's legal credits and performed by humans with their consent will be eligible, a wording that effectively excludes performances synthesized or resurrected by AI without explicit agreement. In the Writing categories, the rules codify the requirement that screenplays be written by humans to be admissible. Under the general eligibility rule (Rule Two) concerning generative AI, the Academy reserves the right to request additional information from production teams regarding the nature of the uses and the proportion of human writing.

Other developments structure this edition. An actor can now be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if they rank among the top five votes. The Casting category can award up to three statuettes instead of two. The Cinematography shortlist is reduced to a fixed list of twenty films. Most notably, the International Feature Film category opens up a second submission path: a non-English language film can qualify by winning one of the awards from a list of recognized festivals, including Berlin, Busan, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, and Venice. The director will now be listed as a nominee alongside the film, whose name will be engraved on the statuette's plaque.