Adobe Unveils AI-Powered Tools at MAX 2024 Conference

Adobe Brings Generative AI to Premiere Pro

Contributors are compensated when their Stock image is used as a reference point, once the edited image resulting from the generated output is downloaded,” Adobe tells PetaPixel. Artificial intelligence is playing an increasing role across many genres of photography, but few feel the impact of AI more acutely than stock photography. Whether outright generating images or editing them with AI, Adobe has, unsurprisingly, fully embraced its Firefly AI technology within Adobe Stock. With designers complaining about wanting a faster creative process, Adobe seems to have heard the collective sighs and is rolling out some exciting new generative AI features for Illustrator and Photoshop. "We’re standing on the threshold of a transformative moment in generative AI," he tells me, revealing we're about to see a "shift from the prompt-based era to a controls era".

The concern for creatives is seeing their work potentially lumped in with those tasks. But you have to trust that the company isn't "taking stuff from other people and reappropriating it," said Acevedo. "I think that people will see AI as a good starting point, but then as things look all the same over and over again, I think that people would be very fatigued with how it looks," said Natalie Andrewson, an illustrator and printmaker. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations.

But the newest AI tool for Adobe Photoshop allows editors to remove distractions in one click. Called automatic image distraction removal, the tool uses AI to not just remove the distractions, but find the distractions. At Sundance 2025 in Utah, the creative tech giant has announced a new AI-powered Media Intelligence tool that automatically analyses visuals across thousands of clips in seconds. Available in Premiere Pro in beta, it can identify the contents of each clip to make them searchable by text, potentially saving video editors many hours when searching through footage. We truly believe that [generative AI] can revolutionize our marketing content supply chain. To do so we’ll need to not only focus on the technology platform but also on people and process components.

Since 2001, he has been editor-in-chief of TV Tech (), the leading source of news and information on broadcast and related media technology and is a frequent contributor and moderator to the brand’s Tech Leadership events. For those who have followed Adobe Firefly’s evolution of tools like Generative Fill in Photoshop, this really shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. However, to see it in person is still quite impressive—much in the way the very first generative AI images of Generative Fill were for image editors. Kicking off their annual Adobe MAX conference in Miami, Florida this year, Adobe has announced that their Firefly video model is finally ready to release to the public and is available to try out today. Before designers can edit a section of an image, they have to select it in the Photoshop interface.

"Some [AI] things are game changers, but I understand that with generative AI, it's controversial. There are other companies that are being a little suspicious as to how they're pulling stuff." But professional creators now face a difficult choice about what role -- if any -- AI should play in their work. Adobe Firefly is the technology powering the new generative AI innovations in both Photoshop and Illustrator.

Adobe MAX 2024 - Adobe blends AI and automation to scale marketing content delivery

For photographers, the new pixels are nearly always meant to jive with the background, making it look like a distraction was never there in the first place. If the pixels are too smooth, too noisy, or the wrong color, one distraction has just been replaced with a new one. Adobe is aware of the issues and explains that, unlike non-AI tools, those powered by technology like Firefly, which is constantly being fine-tuned behind the scenes, are not continuously improving in every possible situation. While a one-step backward, two-step-forward situation is foreign to most photo editing applications, reality has changed in the age of AI.

But many artists still have serious concerns about how generative AI is trained and used, and how its enormous impact on the creative industry is shaping it now and for years to come. Generative AI is one of the most controversial topics in the industry, and professional creators have been pointing out all the reasons why AI cannot meaningfully replace them for years now. Even with Adobe's thoughtfully crafted caveat that AI isn't here to replace creators, the company is diving into the deep end with a plan for integrating AI across all its products. In the future Adobe is imagining, AI won't be a dirty word; it'll be the newest tool in professionals' arsenals. It's an idealistic future, to be sure, but it's one Adobe is committed to bringing to life, even if it's a steep uphill climb. During my time at its Adobe Max annual creative conference last month, the message came up in every interview, on the showroom floor, during demos and literally within the first 10 minutes of the two keynotes.

The update with the latest Firefly Vector model is now available in public beta, and as Adobe continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI in design, we can expect even more innovative features and updates. The update also brings a new Dimension tool to Illustrator that automatically adds sizing information to your projects, and a Mockup feature that helps you visualize your designs on real-life objects. Retype is another nifty tool that converts static text in images into editable text.

However, the “Generative Extend” AI beta is not full-on generative AI, but rather a feature that allows creators to extend clips to cover gaps in footage, smooth out transitions or hold onto shots longer for perfectly timed edits. As the disgruntled photo editor adds, there is no simple way to roll back to an older version of the Firefly tools. Images are processed server-side, so there is not much available by way of user control.

Adobe introduces new generative AI features for its creative applications

The Firefly Video Model also incorporates the ability to eliminate unwanted elements from footage, akin to Photoshop's content-aware fill. Adobe says its generative AI technology edits each frame and maintains consistency throughout the timeline, turning a typically slow, manual process into a faster, automated one. In September, Adobe previewed its text-to-video (similar to OpenAI's Sora and Meta's Movie Gen) and image-to-video features.

“After the plan-specific number of generative credits is reached, you can keep taking generative AI actions to create vector graphics or standard-resolution images, but your use of those generative AI features may be slower,” Adobe says. The company recently previewed the upcoming offering, which will include such features as text-to-video, being able to remove objects from scenes, and smoothing jump-cut transitions. Stager’s Generative Background feature helps designers explore backgrounds for staging 3D models, using text descriptions to generate images.

Selection area

“Our goal is to empower all creative professionals to realize their creative visions,” said Deepa Subramaniam, Adobe Creative Cloud’s vice president of product marketing. The company remains committed to using generative AI to support and enhance creative expression rather than replace it. Adobe continues to expand its AI capabilities, with recent hires for generative AI research roles in India. Despite some backlash from creative professionals concerned about job automation, Adobe emphasizes that its AI tools aim to amplify human creativity. The company has also responded to ethical concerns, such as removing AI imitations following a complaint from the Ansel Adams estate.

Further, like every other Adobe Stock asset, anything created or changed using AI is designed to be commercially safe and backed by IP indemnification (for eligible customers). With Generate Variations, Stock customers can customize existing content to fit stylistic and compositional preferences with Firefly. For example, if someone likes the content of an image but it doesn’t fit the style of the rest of a brand’s identity or marketing campaign, they can use AI to apply a new style or aesthetic to the image. These Generative Edits rely heavily on existing assets, even if they include AI-generated pixels. Generative Variations takes the AI further, creating an all-new asset based on an existing reference image. Sometimes an image on Stock is nearly perfect, but it’s not the right size or aspect ratio for a particular application.

The beta was released today alongside Photoshop 25.7, the new stable version of the software. In discussing the feature, Shantanu Narayen, Chair & CEO of Adobe, described the Adobe Experience Platform as “critical” to supporting the “heterogeneous environment” in which their customers reside. They can be edited to your liking, but it uses intelligence to apply animations to specific element types. No matter the path forward, Fong emphasizes the importance of remembering where AI-generated content comes from.

Additional improvements include expanded tethering support for select Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras, like the Sony a7 IV and a7R V. This provides access and control to a connected camera. When users use Generative Remove, Lightroom offers three potential variants, each with a slightly different spin on AI-powered object removal. In a pre-launch demo, PetaPixel asked Adobe to go off-script and remove different objects in various photos, and Generative Remove didn’t skip a beat. It lets users remove unwanted objects from any photo entirely non-destructively with just a single click. Well, the tool requires one click to activate, but users must paint a general shape over the object(s) they want to remove.

It projected digital media segment revenue of between $4.09 billion to $4.12 billion and digital experience segment revenue of between $1.36 billion to $1.38 billion. However, the amount of manual control photographers have over the depth map and visualization depends on the platform. Lens Blur uses artificial intelligence to create a three-dimensional depth map of a two-dimensional image. If an image file has depth map data already attached, like a Portrait Mode shot from an iPhone, Lens Blur can use it.

The model boasts several notable features, including the capacity to generate B-roll footage from text prompts, with Adobe asserting that high-quality clips can be produced in under two minutes. This capability mirrors the pure video generation offered by platforms like Sora, Kling, or Dream Machine. Adobe says that, like with other Firefly generative models, both the Firefly Video Model and the features it powers are designed to be safe for commercial use.

Deepa Subramaniam, vice president of Creative Cloud product marketing, said in an interview that this high usage proved Adobe was on the right track. "[It] really shows us that we're addressing something that our customers are really struggling with." For some creators, Adobe's focus on convenience and problem-solving -- along with its safety protocols -- is great news.

I’d also recommend organizations come into this process knowing it is going to be iterative. I might not know what Adobe is going to invent in five or 10 years but I do know that we will evolve our assessment to meet those innovations and the feedback we receive. Five years ago, we formalized our AI Ethics process by establishing our AI Ethics principles of accountability, responsibility, and transparency, which serve as the foundation for our AI Ethics governance process. We assembled a diverse, cross-functional team of Adobe employees from around the world to develop actionable principles that can stand the test of time. Think of a bounding box around your Generative Fill selection, and try to keep it inside that block.

New Innovations in Photoshop and Illustrator Transform Creative Workflows and Deliver More Speed, Precision and Power Than Ever Before - Adobe

New Innovations in Photoshop and Illustrator Transform Creative Workflows and Deliver More Speed, Precision and Power Than Ever Before.

Posted: Mon, 14 Oct 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

While at it, Adobe is also adding a tool called Generative Workspace that allows users to generate a large number of images at once with text prompts. The Firefly Video Model is an example of fast-growing availability of multimodal capabilities in the generative AI market. On Oct. 4, social media giant Meta introduced Movie Gen, a video model that uses text inputs to generate new videos. A computer’s ability to generate what formerly took a camera or a paintbrush has created an understandably mixed reaction among creatives. Yet, the ability to complete tasks in minutes that formerly took hours has swayed some artists to embrace the technology.

These Are the 14 Best New AI Features Adobe Revealed at Adobe Max 2024

A license change appeared to give Adobe the green light to use customer data, and all hell broke loose. At its MAX conference on Monday, Adobe also announced that its  GenStudio for Marketing Performance app, designed to help businesses manage the influx of AI-generated content, is now generally available. To provide greater control over the output, there are options for different camera angles, shot size, motion and zoom, for example, while Adobe says it’s working on more ways to direct the AI-generated video. The Firefly Video model, first unveiled in April, is the latest generative AI model Adobe has developed for its Creative Cloud products — the others cover image, design and vector graphic generation. Adobe said it worked with professional video editors over the last year to better understand how GAI could help resolve some issues in their workflow.

This works similarly to Photoshop’s Remove tool, but it is only available in Lightroom Mobile for now. Brush over the areas that you want to remove, then pick your ideal variation from the four results. Adobe Max 2024 unveiled a range of exciting updates, introducing powerful new AI tools to Adobe's suite. It’s hard to describe the feeling of working in GenStudio for Performance Marketing other than saying it’s a tool that challenges the way you think. "I'm hearing a lot of young people decide they're not going to be artists because it just doesn't feel like they can make a living from it anymore, which is such a bummer," she said.

For technical decision-makers, this partnership offers a clear path to scaling personalization initiatives while potentially reducing the operational complexity of managing cross-cloud data flows. However, the true test will come in 2025 when organizations begin implementing these solutions at scale. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV. Unfortunately, some people are finding that the Generative Fill feature is disabled, which is super frustrating. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay.

It could revolutionize creative workflows, blending advanced technology with user-friendly tools. Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine.

For example, with recent advances in generative AI, it’s easier than ever for “bad actors” to create deceptive content, spread misinformation and manipulate public opinion, undermining trust and transparency. Users on Adobe’s support forums and Reddit have also been questioning whether the generative results have been getting worse instead of better. Adobe’s standard response to questions about guideline violations is that their goal is to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for all users. They don’t offer solutions, and instead dismissively point frustrated users towards the Report tool. Assuming you're willing to risk sharing your personal information with Adobe for access to Generative Fill, give Behance your month and year of birth. For those who don't use the service, Behance is a social media platform that lets you showcase your work to other Adobe users.

Nevertheless, the technology publication TechRadar has suggested that this has not prevented some users from considering cancelling their Adobe subscriptions. Finally, Adobe emphasizes that Firefly is “commercial safe”—trained exclusively on licensed content, mitigating potential copyright concerns. This may be a strategic move considering that Adobe's foray into generative AI has been rocky—to put it mildly.

The controls in this section include some of the most used in Firefly at the moment – including the ability to download your generated image. Adobe Premiere Pro has transformed video editing workflows over the last four years with features like Auto Reframe and Scene Edit Detection. The story broke after an executive at DuckBill Group, Corey Quinn, posted about Slack’s Privacy Principles as they were last week on X. Quinn highlighted that Slack was training its machine learning models on user data and that users have to explicitly opt out of the process. Technology Magazine is the ‘Digital Community’ for the global technology industry. Technology Magazine focuses on technology news, key technology interviews, technology videos, the 'Technology Podcast' series along with an ever-expanding range of focused technology white papers and webinars.

• New Generate Image feature generates entire images from text prompts The new public beta continues the rollout of features powered by Firefly, Adobe’s generative AI platform, inside Photoshop.
• Adobe has also released more info about its own promises for “responsible innovation” for Firefly and this new generative AI video model.
• Adobe does not seem to have any plans to put warnings or notifications in its apps to alert users when they are running low on Credits either, even when the company does eventually enforce these limits.
• Back up to the set of three controls, the middle option allows you to initiate a Download of the selected image.
• Once Adobe does enforce Generative Credits in Photoshop and Lightroom, the company says users can absolutely expect an in-app notification to that effect.

Of all the new features coming to Adobe’s photo and video editing software, these five new AI-powered features could have the most impact. Adobe announced the future of video generation with the Adobe Firefly Video model, expecting it to be the first publicly and commercially safe video generation tool. I expect this will be available within Premiere Pro, and who knows how it will transform your future workflow? You’ll be able to create a video using either a text prompt or an existing image. Delivering impactful global campaigns hinges on the ability to bring marketing and creative teams closer together, with generative AI-powered workflows that eliminate cumbersome and inefficient processes.

• RedFishBlack refers specifically to Generative Fill in Photoshop, but the problems extend to other tools, including Generative Remove, a tool tailor-made for helping photographers clean up photos and remove distractions.
• Using the Clone Stamp tool to roughly cover potential problem areas can sometimes work better than blacking them out.
• Adobe is also investing in better ways to help differentiate content created by AI, which is one of the biggest issues with AI-generated content.
• This really begins with defining our brand and channel guidelines as well as personas in order to generate content that is on-brand and supports personalization across our many segments.
• We truly believe that [generative AI] can revolutionize our marketing content supply chain.

It is crucial to bring concrete examples to the table that demonstrate how our principles work in action and to show real-world impact, as opposed to talking through abstract concepts. A key differentiator in this offering is the integration of generative AI capabilities through the AEP AI Assistant. This conversational interface represents a significant democratization of enterprise marketing tools, allowing teams to interact with complex data and automation systems through natural language prompts. Several of Photoshop’s existing AI tools are designed for tasks like eliminating power lines, garbage cans, and other distractions from the background of a photo.

Generative Remove will wipe the unwanted part, and then replicate the background. No matter what kind of camera you’re working with or how skilled of a photographer you are, Adobe Lightroom can help you easily achieve pro-quality photos super fast. Adobe says, therefore, that generative AI in Photoshop and Lightroom will never be limited, referencing the title of this article. PetaPixel maintains that any change of a service that disrupts the expected function is a limitation.

Topaz Labs has introduced a new plug-in for Adobe After Effects, a video enhancement software that uses AI models to improve video quality. This gives users access to enhancement and motion deblur models for sharper, clearer video quality. Accelerated on GeForce RTX GPUs, these models run nearly 2.5x faster on the GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU compared with the MacBook Pro M3 Max. The October NVIDIA Studio Driver, designed to optimize creative apps, will be available for download tomorrow. For automatic Studio Driver notifications, as well as easy access to apps like NVIDIA Broadcast, download the NVIDIA app beta.