Meta turns to Awkwafina, John Cena to draw users to AI.

The tech company is expected to announce deals with actors Awkwafina, John Cena, Judi Dench, Kristen Bell and Keegan-Michael Key on Wednesday that will allow the social-media company to use their voices in a new AI assistant. Meta is paying stars millions of dollars for use of their likeness, people familiar with the negotiations said.

The new chatbots, set to be unveiled at Meta’s annual developer and hardware conference, follow months of negotiations between the Facebook parent, celebrities and their representatives that raised novel questions about privacy, compensation and the scope of how their likeness is used. Many celebrities want to take advantage of opportunities linked to generative AI’s advance while maintaining control over how their voice and appearance are used and what they are paid.

Meta and other tech companies are spending billions of dollars to launch new AI products, hoping that they will deepen user engagement and make their social media and other tools more compelling. Bloomberg earlier reported that Meta was offering stars millions of dollars for their voices for AI projects.

Some stars sought control over what their voice could be used to say and wanted to ensure they wouldn’t be held liable for any misuse of their likeness.

Artificial-intelligence advances were among actors’ concerns in last year’s strikes, with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists securing some protections in their new contract.

It isn’t the first time Meta has tried to leverage household names to get people interested in using its new technology, and past efforts have stumbled.

Last year at Meta’s annual conference, called Meta Connect, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company had partnered with celebrities including Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton to release AI chatbots with distinct personalities. The chatbots didn’t catch on, and the company discontinued them over the summer.

Other media companies are also experimenting with generative AI for a range of social-media and entertainment offerings. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, NBC cut a deal with sportscaster Al Michaels to use an AI-generated version of his voice for daily recaps.

Some new tools have caused controversy. OpenAI got into hot water earlier this year after it released an AI assistant that had a voice that some people thought sounded like Scarlett Johansson, including the actress herself. OpenAI said its AI assistant, called Sky, was never intended to resemble Johansson. The movie star hired a legal team and put out a blistering statement. OpenAI paused use of the voice.