Adobe has been an early and aggressive AI adopter. Its Firefly generative AI engine continues to expand across the Creative Cloud including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Lightroom. Just today, it announced new Firefly features in Photoshop and Illustrator to help users generate textures and images on the fly.
For example, a new tool in Adobe Illustrator known as Generative Shape Fill lets users add layers of detail and texture to shapes, using only text prompts. Beyond prompts, users can choose from a list of styles to do the same thing. From there, they can modify the degrees of a given applied effect using sliders.
And in Photoshop, Adobe has made Firefly’s text-to-image generator more natively integrated. This lets users create new elements with an easy-to-use and centrally-located “generate image” button. The feature will be powered by Adobe Firefly’s Image 3 Foundation model which exits beta this week.
As for pricing, Adobe is offering a set number of credits to existing creative cloud users. Though generative AI is an expensive endeavor, Adobe wants to frame it as a value-add to Creative Cloud users. That said, once a user’s free credits run out, they’re welcomed to buy more to get their gen AI fix.
Creative Co-Pilot
Stepping back, it makes sense for Adobe to lean into generative AI’s ability to be a creative co-pilot. The idea is to save creators time by automating some of the rote aspects of their workflows. By generating elements of their work through prompts, it frees them up for higher-order tasks and creativity.
Some version of that principle is in play throughout the tech world, as players from Microsoft (Copilot integrations throughout Office apps) to Amazon (generating product images & backgrounds), continue to integrate generative AI in ways that save their users time or elevate their capabilities.
But Adobe is challenged and conflicted by a separate factor that recently occurred to us: political backlash to generative AI amongst its core constituency of creative pros. As seen in the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, creative professionals are among the most ardent detractors of generative AI.
Here, there are two camps: Those who see AI as a tool to empower artists, and those who see it as a tool that will replace artists. The actual outcome may be somewhere in the middle but it will likely lean more towards empowering effects. Shunning AI – or futilely trying to stop it – isn’t going to work for anyone.
Survival Imperative
And that brings us back to Adobe. The company, despite its core user base of creative professionals, realizes that it needs to incorporate AI into and across the Creative Cloud or lose ground to Canva, Microsoft Designer, and others aggressively adopting the technology to assist creative workflows.
The survival imperative to do so likely outweighs some of the risk in alienating the sizable and influential factions of its user base who are in the anti-AI camp. More so, Adobe is likely hoping it can convert those users to see the light. And the best way to do that is to let them experience its benefits firsthand.
To that end, Adobe wants to walk its users into the brave new world of generative AI. Though risk levels are high – due to the vigorous knee-jerk reactions to all things AI from detractors – the reward is potentially greater. That includes strengthening ties with creative pros early in the AI cycle.
In fact, being introduced to a technology for the first time by a given entity can have a powerful influence on trust and loyalty. It occurred to us recently that this is Adobe’s AI play. Despite misgivings among many creative pros, it’s gradually integrating AI in order to lead them into the next era of creative work.
