Adobe’s AI image generation tool, Firefly, and its editing tool Adobe Express are both set for Google Bard integration
(Image credit: Adobe/Google)
Adobe and Google have announced they’re partnering up to bring Adobe’s AI image generation engine, Firefly, which is currently in Beta to Google Bard, the search giant’s ChatGPT rival. By combining images with text, and integrating Adobe Express for AI-editing into the mix too, the partnership sees each firm play to its strength as global appetite for AI-everything reaches a fever pitch.
If you haven’t used an AI tool like Google Bard or ChatGPT before, it couldn’t be simpler. Within a text entry field, simply punch in a string of text: “explain camera aperture in a sonnet” for example, and in an instant, the service will heed your command.
(Image credit: Google)
As for Adobe Firefly, it’s the same principle, though you can choose to turn text into an image, text effects, or recolour vectors. For example: “a cat with superpowers” in Adobe Firefly generated this set of images:
Image 1 of 5
(Image credit: Adobe/Google)
(Image credit: Adobe/Google)
(Image credit: Adobe/Google)
(Image credit: Adobe/Google)
(Image credit: Adobe/Google)
And as for Firefly’s text generation tool, if you type in “Rainbow Fur”, it creates a texture atop a word of your choice.
(Image credit: Adobe)
The integration of Adobe's cutting-edge image tools matched with Bard will enable anyone with a Google account to visualise ideas with a few words, and then continue to edit them directly in Adobe's Express platform. That means people who've never used design software in their lives will suddenly be able to format images like pros.
Can I use Bard and Firefly now?
In isolation, you can use each tool right now, yes. Both are in Beta, so if you visit their respective homepages, you'll be able to sign up.
Adobe's service in particular has come a long way since we first covered Firefly in March 2023, becoming Adobe's most successful Beta to date and having generated over 70 million images so far.
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As with anything AI, it isn’t all fun and games. Adobe ensured attribution was front and centre when creating its AI service, and you can see from the images we generated, that each features a watermark and information in the image about its origin.
This hardwired accountability is all part of Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), created to help combat misinformation and ensure proper attribution for creators.
Other members of the initiative include the AFP, the Associated Press, the BBC, Getty Images, Leica, Microsoft, Nikon, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. In Adobe's words:
"CAI recognizes the enormous opportunities and challenges resulting from AI-generated content and understands the coalition’s unique role in helping consumers make informed decisions about the content they are consuming. Between the tremendous momentum in attracting new members and the growing adoption of Content Credentials by leaders spanning multiple industries, CAI is ensuring that technological innovations are built on ethical foundations."
So if you're a design student thinking about handing in some Firefly creations for your homework, it might not fly, but for creatives looking to visualise ideas and photographers and editors in need of making quick tweaks, the Bard, Firefly and Express integration looks set to be a peek into the future of creative workflows for everyone.
Basil Kronfli is a freelance technology journalist, consultant, and content creator. He trained in graphic design and started his career at Canon Europe before moving into journalism. Basil is also experienced in video production, independently running the YouTube channel TechEdit, and during his time at Future, he worked alongside the Digital Camera World team as a senior video producer.
