Adobe has introduced innovative conversational AI tools in Photoshop and Firefly, enabling users to create and modify images using chat-style prompts and guided actions. This update aims to enhance user experience and accessibility for a diverse audience.
The enhancements include the AI Assistant in Adobe Photoshop, which is currently in public beta for both web and mobile versions, alongside a revamped Adobe Firefly Image Editor that unifies generative editing capabilities into an integrated workspace.
Photoshop Assistant
The AI Assistant in Photoshop features a chat interface that comprehends natural-language commands, automatically implementing changes or guiding users through each step. It efficiently handles common editing tasks such as removing backgrounds, adjusting lighting, modifying colors, and eliminating unwanted elements.
On mobile devices, users can also issue voice commands for edits. Adobe envisions this feature as a means for a wide range of users—including students and marketing teams—to perform edits more effortlessly and with clearer in-app instructions.
Photoshop on the web now includes AI Markup, which allows users to draw on an image and combine their selection with a text prompt to dictate where adjustments take place. For instance, a user might highlight a specific area and request the addition of flowers or mountains in that section.
Firefly Editor
The Firefly Image Editor has been enhanced with a suite of tools accessible via text prompts instead of separate menus and panels. It supports both AI-generated and user-uploaded images.
The toolset comprises Generative Fill for inserting or replacing elements, Generative Remove for deleting objects, Generative Expand for altering size and aspect ratio, Generative Upscale for enhancing resolution and sharpening details, and Remove Background for isolating subjects.
Adobe asserts that the updated Firefly Image Editor offers a more streamlined workspace for modifying composition, style, and detail. This approach signifies a move towards conversational, multi-step edits that would typically require various tools.
Model Choices
Firefly also grants access to multiple AI image models. Adobe indicates that users can choose from over 25 models, including those developed by Adobe and partners like Google, OpenAI, Runway, and Black Forest Labs.
This multi-model strategy aligns with a broader trend in creative software, where vendors provide a selection of underlying AI systems while ensuring a consistent editing experience. It also suggests that Adobe is positioning Firefly as a central hub for image generation and editing rather than relying on a single-model framework.
Usage Limits
Adobe is revising the number of AI generations available across its products. According to the company, Firefly users will enjoy unlimited generations.
In Photoshop for web and mobile, paid subscribers will receive unlimited generations with the AI Assistant for a limited time. Free users on both platforms will begin with 20 complimentary generations.
These adjustments introduce conversational AI features to Adobe’s existing assistants, which include those in Acrobat and Adobe Express. Additionally, Adobe highlights integrations with third-party chat platforms, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft 365 Copilot, as part of its comprehensive conversational AI strategy.
Adobe aims to appeal to creators at various experience levels with the updates to Photoshop and Firefly—from beginners seeking guided steps to seasoned users desiring quicker access to specific edits. Use cases include enhancing holiday photos, adjusting portrait lighting and colors, and crafting stylized images for social media or cover art.
“Today, we’re expanding the power of conversational AI with new capabilities to edit your photos just by describing what you want with Photoshop’s new AI Assistant. And we’re adding powerful new AI tools in Firefly Image Editor.”
The AI Assistant in Photoshop is currently available in public beta on web and mobile, while the new Firefly image editing features are accessible globally in the Firefly Image Editor.
