Photoshop’s Firefly Generative AI Launches With Creative Cloud Price Increase
Photoshop's Firefly Generative AI Launches With Creative Cloud Price Increase
Firefly: Adobe’s AI Tool that Lights up Creativity
If you’re a creative individual looking for a spark of inspiration, then Firefly, Adobe’s family of generative AI tools, is here to light up your imagination. After concluding its beta testing phase, Firefly is now ready for commercial use, giving you the green light to create stunning imagery in Photoshop, experiment with wacky text effects on the Firefly website, recolor images in Illustrator, and spruce up posters and videos using Adobe Express. So, let’s dive into this exciting realm of AI-powered creativity and discover what Firefly has to offer.
Unleashing the Power of Firefly
In order to access Firefly’s creative capabilities, Adobe offers credits based on the plan you have subscribed to. The full Creative Cloud subscription, priced at $55 per month, allows you to produce up to 1,000 creations per month. Alternatively, if you have a single-app subscription, such as Photoshop or Premiere Pro, priced at $21 per month, you can create up to 500 designs monthly. For users of Adobe Express, a versatile mobile app priced at $10 per month, Firefly comes with 250 usage credits.
One thing Adobe wants to ensure is that users don’t feel limited by their credit allowance. Deepa Subramaniam, Vice President of Marketing for Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription, stated, “We don’t want anyone conserving [credits] or creating from a place of scarcity or feeling like they’re rationing.” This commitment to empowering creativity is evident in Adobe’s efforts to make Firefly accessible to all its users.
While Firefly boosts creativity, it’s important to note that Adobe will be raising subscription prices by around 9% to 10% in November. This price increase is attributed to several factors, including the addition of Firefly and other AI features, as well as the introduction of new tools and apps. The annual subscription for the full Creative Cloud plan will go up from $55 to $60 per month, while the single-app subscription will increase from $21 to $23 per month.
Exploring Firefly’s Capabilities
As an AI-powered, cloud-based service, Firefly has garnered attention for its captivating effects. However, it also comes with some limitations. Nevertheless, Adobe constantly strives to improve Firefly’s performance and deliver better results through ongoing training and enhancements. So, while it may have some imperfections, Firefly’s potential to amplify creativity remains undeniable.
According to a report by UBS analyst Karl Keirstead, Adobe is expected to generate an estimated $400 to $500 million in new revenue from the price increase in the next fiscal year. Initially, Keirstead anticipated Adobe to charge a separate subscription fee for Firefly. However, its integration into the overall Creative Cloud pricing suggests Adobe’s confidence in this approach.
The Rise of Generative AI
Generative AI tools, like Firefly, have gained significant attention since OpenAI’s text-based chatbot, ChatGPT, burst into the public consciousness in 2022. These tools, trained on extensive data sets, have the ability to mimic human output with some incredible results. While they may occasionally make mistakes, Adobe’s creative customer base is known for exploring ideas rather than seeking literal truth. Thus, customers are likely to be more forgiving of any minor flaws in Firefly’s results.
Firefly: Reaching Beyond Limits
For customers with paid subscription plans, there’s no need to worry about hitting the monthly usage limit. Even if you exceed your monthly allowance, you can continue to use Firefly, albeit with slower processing speeds. However, users on free tiers are limited to 25 uses per month. To cater to those who expect to regularly exceed their caps, Adobe will offer the option to purchase an additional 100 Firefly usage credits for $5 per month starting in November.
Empowering Contributors
In a noteworthy move, Adobe recognizes the value of its stock art contributors and their crucial role in training Firefly’s AI. To show appreciation, Adobe will issue an annual bonus payment to these contributors. The payout amount will depend on the number of times a contributor’s images were licensed by customers, as well as the overall acceptance rate of their images in the stock image licensing business. As Deepa Subramaniam stated, “This is an opportunity to provide a new revenue stream for our contributors.”
To ensure compliance with copyright laws and avoid potential issues for commercial customers, Adobe trained Firefly’s AI using images from its own Adobe Stock library and public domain images. This approach allows Adobe to sidestep copyright problems and provides a robust foundation for Firefly’s training.
Unleashing the Potential of Premiere Pro
Firefly’s capabilities will soon extend to Adobe’s Premiere Pro video editing tool. Later this year, users will be able to leverage Firefly’s AI to enhance their video editing experience and ignite even more creativity in their projects.
Unleash Your Creativity with Firefly
As someone who has delved into the world of Firefly, I can attest to its ability to seamlessly blend imagery with existing scenes, whether it’s inserting elements using the generative fill tool or expanding an image with generative expand. It can even match lighting and perspective, creating plausible reflections. While it occasionally produces distortions or unexpected results, a willingness to explore and experiment can yield incredible outcomes with Firefly.
Breaking the generation process into multiple steps often leads to better results. For instance, in the image of a parachuting hippopotamus, I first instructed Photoshop to generate a hippo against a blue sky, then expanded the image to add more sky, and finally added the parachute. This multi-step approach allows for greater control and refinement.
Building Trust through Transparency
In an effort to combat the issues associated with deepfakes and enhance transparency, Adobe has developed a technology called content credentials. Images created using Adobe’s tools, including Firefly, will be clearly labeled as AI-generated. This labeling system aims to establish trust and demystify the process for users, ensuring transparency and clarity in the creations they produce.
With Firefly, Adobe has ignited a new era of AI-powered creativity. By combining the ingenuity of human creators with the power of artificial intelligence, Firefly offers endless possibilities for pushing the boundaries of imagination. So, if you’re ready to unleash your creativity and embark on a journey of innovation, Firefly is here to guide your way.
Editors’ note: ENBLE is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.
