Adobe announces Firefly AI Assistant for chat-style editing

In short: Adobe has announced a new Firefly AI Assistant that lets people edit creative projects by describing the changes they want in plain language.

What happened

Adobe says its upcoming Firefly AI Assistant will let users type requests like “retouch this image” or “resize this for social media” in a chat-style box. Instead of hunting through menus, the assistant can carry out the steps across Adobe’s Creative Cloud apps for you.

Adobe says the assistant can handle “complex, multi-step” editing tasks by using tools from apps such as Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, Express, and Illustrator. Think of it like telling a helpful assistant what you want the final result to look like, and it does the routine button-clicking, then shows you options to pick from.

Adobe says users will still be able to fine-tune results. The assistant may surface specific controls, like sliders, and users can also open the edited work in the regular Creative Cloud apps to finish the job.

Adobe also says the assistant can learn your preferences over time, like the kinds of edits you usually choose. The company’s AI chief, Alexandru Costin, told The Verge that this learning feature will be optional, and users can choose which projects the assistant learns from.

The Firefly AI Assistant is “available soon” on Adobe’s Firefly platform, but Adobe did not share an exact release date. Adobe also announced new Firefly editing features rolling out starting today, including tighter links to Adobe Stock for video clips and new tools for image and audio adjustments.

Why it matters

For many people, Adobe’s pro apps can feel like a cockpit full of switches. A chat-based helper could make common edits faster for beginners and busy teams, while still letting experts step in and control the details.

Source: The Verge AI