It's been a tumultuous year for Adobe, but despite its ups and downs it continues to adapt to the modern tech landscape.
The software company has just added another new tool that enables customers use artificial intelligence to create images based on the contents of its library of stock images.
Importantly, the creators of the original images still get paid.
The tools were rolled out on Tuesday and enable customers to take an image from Adobe Stock, and modify it with AI in whatever way they want. The original creator is then compensated as if their original image was used, but only “when their stock image is used as a reference and the resulting generated output is downloaded.”
All stock customers can now apply the following “generative edits” to Adobe Stock images before licensing them: replace background, remove background and expand image.
It is not clear from Adobe’s article whether creatives with images currently in the stock image library have a say in this, or whether they will be asked to sign a new contract giving permission for their images to be altered.
Users can also use “generative variations” which include ‘style’…
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“With this feature, you can seamlessly align the aesthetic of a generated image with the style of any existing Adobe Stock image. Type a text prompt, and Style will apply the overall aesthetic of your chosen image to your newly generated output. This will enable you to experiment with different styles and create a cohesive visual theme and ultimately download from Adobe Stock.”
… and ‘composition’:
“Find an image you love, and this feature will match its outline and depth and then apply the composition to a newly generated image that you describe in a text prompt. Together, Composition and Style allow you to adjust content to make it more unique and customized to your needs or branding guidelines.”
Adobe said: “Connecting these features to the Adobe Stock collection increases the versatility of an asset, which we believe will make it more likely to be licensed, increasing contributor earnings potential.
“With these new features on Adobe Stock, Contributors are also compensated when the generated output created from a Stock image used as a reference is downloaded.”
Adobe is the company behind software tools such as Photoshop, which are widely used in content creation, and it has been scrabbling to increase the AI capabilities of its programs due to a rise in competition from companies such as OpenAI.
Matthew Smith, vice president at Adobe for strategy, design and emerging products, told Reuters: "A majority of people still have a blank canvas problem.
"Generative AI is not replacing stock (imagery). It's not replacing creatives or contributors. It's enhancing and giving them more potential opportunity to increase their earnings."
Adobe announced plans to compensate artists for their work when used in conjunction with the AI tools in 2023, but earlier this year the Federal Trade Committee filed a lawsuit against Adobe accusing it of tricking its customers into unwanted year-long contracts, and making it impossible to cancel free trials.
In another dubious move, in June social media lit up with creatives calling for a boycott of the company and all its associated products after it updated its terms of use, giving itself access and rights over any form of content uploaded across its programs.
If you're looking for an alternative to Adobe why not take a look at our guides to the best software for image editing and the best software for video editing.
