During Episode 3 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, we discussed the beneficiaries and disrupted parties of the hot (and then new) generative AI trend. Disrupted parties include stock image libraries used in brand marketing. And potential beneficiaries include brand marketers themselves.
The thought is that brand marketing requires visual assets, such as the stock images seen throughout most business websites, as well as product-specific images. In both cases, generative AI can be used to create custom imagery or at least be a part of the workflow, such as inspiration and storyboarding.
Now, the king of creative software and brand marketing has followed this same logic. Adobe has launched Firefly, bringing generative AI to the Creative Cloud. Firefly will be available immediately in standalone form, with direct integrations across Creative Cloud programs to come in the near term.
Those integrations will be where the magic is. In fact, the headline here is Adobe’s ability to scale generative AI by integrating it across the ubiquitous Creative Cloud – from Photoshop to Illustrator. This could also accelerate AI adoption by delivering it to brand marketers and SMBs through a familiar vessel.
UX Tenets
Before going deeper on those strategic positioning points, what is Firefly specifically? Aligned with the UX tenets of generative AI, it allows users to generate visual elements with text prompts. Beyond visual elements, it can also generate images and illustrations in specific styles (think: impressionist)
Of course, like any AI, generative AI requires reliable training sets to associate image elements with text prompts. Here, Adobe is in prime position, given vast visual libraries across the Creative Cloud and in Adobe Stock ( the same reason Google could be primed for generative AI given its vast image index).
Similarly, Adobe can accomplish style emulation (the impressionist example noted above), using the styles it has under its belt. This can go beyond images to include fonts and other elements, where it has competency in tools like InDesign. This could be useful in things like banner ads or event posters.
Finally, Adobe hopes to avoid the legal drama that has hung over other generative AI players like Stable Diffusion. Rather than scrape public sources or stock image libraries (Getty Images has already sued Stability AI), it utilizes the assets it has already licensed, including Adobe Stock, and other sources.
Still, to avoid further IP infringement, Adobe is offering artists who participate in Adobe Stock to tag their images with a “do not train” indicator so that they become ineligible for AI training sets. And image elements that are used in generative AI will include royalties for original creators in Adobe Stock.
Tone of Voice
Back to brand marketing, Adobe’s AI integrations take an even more specific form, shown in Sensei AI. Launched in tandem with Firefly, it bakes much of the same technology into an enterprise-focused package. This includes deeper integrations into Adobe’s productivity and marketing-geared apps.
For example, it broadens the use case beyond visuals to include conversational AI, which can be used in marketing tasks like generating campaign performance analytics. The first integrations will land in the Experience Cloud (Experience Manager, Journey Optimizer, Journey Analytics, and Marketo Engage).
Other use cases for Sensei AI could include campaign creation. For example, it could automate some of the tedious work around generating different marketing campaign variations. That can include copy changes meant for different formats (think: email versus web), or audiences (think: tone of voice).
And like Creative Cloud integrations above, the Experience Cloud is the right place to scale generative AI, given its reach. And from a user perspective, this familiar environment could accelerate AI adoption among marketers, as noted. Beyond brands, that’s a key factor for SMBs who tend to favor the familiar.
