Big Photoshop updates announced at Adobe Max 2024 puts AI front and center

Audience gathered around a large screen with illustrations surrounding a large Adobe MAX logo
(Image credit: Future)

Adobe has dropped some big Photoshop updates on us for Adobe Max 2024 which is currently being held in Miami – and the focus is well and truly on AI.

New features include a brand-new Distraction Removal tool which offers a one-click solution to removing unwanted or distracting wires, cables, or people from a photo. Almost certainly a response to phone companies' moves in the AI space with default apps like Google Photo’s excellent Magic Eraser, which increasingly offers one-click AI retouching and object removal. Distraction removal is available in Photoshop v26, and people removal is available on the Photoshop web app.

The remove tool in Photoshop has also been improved with the options to turn off using Generative AI, always use Gen AI, or let the tool pick what is best for the complexity of the image you are editing. This should please any users who would prefer not to use any AI elements in their images but still want to remove distracting or unwanted objects and people without doing the manual work.

(Image credit: Adobe)

Next up – Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Generate Similar, and Generate Background in Photoshop will now use the more advanced Adobe Firefly Image 3 Model.

This newer model should better understand more complex prompts with multiple parameters, and also improve the variety of results offered based on prompts for more ideation. The Image 3 model should also offer more photorealistic results that closely match the original source image. You can see a demonstration below of not just how much more natural the frog looks, but also the expansed detail and realism in the water droplets created by the Image 3 model.

(Image credit: Adobe)

Finally, for those running Photoshop (Beta), the latest version also adds a new Generative Workspace, where you can ideate and play around with generative text-to-image creations before you decide which to use in your project. The Generative Workspace also contains a history of previous AI-generated content, so you can pull old creations without having to re-generate assets from prompts that might have been forgotten.

This Generative Workspace will exist within Photoshop but as its own separate window, and you can dip into it without affecting the Photoshop file you are working in. Like Adobe's Firefly web app, the Workspace offers a starting spot for inspiration, as well as a place to upload reference images and choose image styles for more fine-grained control.

(Image credit: Adobe)

For more AI editing options check out our guide for the best photo editing software.

TOPICS
Gareth Bevan
Reviews Editor

Gareth is a photographer based in London, working as a freelance photographer and videographer for the past several years, having the privilege to shoot for some household names. With work focusing on fashion, portrait and lifestyle content creation, he has developed a range of skills covering everything from editorial shoots to social media videos. Outside of work, he has a personal passion for travel and nature photography, with a devotion to sustainability and environmental causes.

Read more
A screenshot of Adobe Lightroom's Clean Up tool
Adobe adds impressive AI features for Lightroom, but I wish I had this one simple feature years ago
Photoshop Elements 2025
What's new in Photoshop Elements 2025? We share our favorite new features
A screenshot of the Adobe Stock Customize tool
Adobe Stock now enables you to mass-edit with AI – but is it a nail in the coffin for stock photography, or another way for creators to earn money?
A Hollywood-style portrait (left), turned into two AI-generated artworks, a painting (middle) and graphic pencil drawing (right)
Photoshop's Generative AI turned this photo into a work of art – I'm impressed!
AIarty Image Matting
Cut the chaos: AI-powered background removal + free giveaway for photographers!
Video clip showing Adobe Premiere Pro's new Media Intelligence & Search Panel, the video shows inputting the term 'red canoe at dawn' while the software finds clips of a red canoe at dawn
Canon collab and AI tools headline mega Adobe Premiere Pro, After Affects and Frame.io updates
Latest in Artificial Intelligence
AI (Artificial Intelligence) concept - woman creating photos from her thoughts
Photographers can now get an "AI-free" badge showing that work is human-made – and it's currently free
Four resulting views from the Stability Virtual Camera
Stability AI has a “camera” now. This AI virtual camera turns still photos into immersive video
A smartphone showing Google Gemini 2.0
AI could be stealing your photos in more ways than one – as AI is actually really good at removing complex watermarks
A family watching a 1980s TV set
Is generative AI ready for streaming? Probably not, as the internet reacts to “horrible” upscaling of classic sitcoms
An image from the Rivals Photography Vs. Promptography gallery
Can photography and AI happily co-exist? They do in this unusual new gallery exhibition contrasting photography with “promptography”
Hurricane Helene displayed by the National Weather Service
Fake AI weather photographs are on the rise – here’s how to tell fact from fiction
Latest in News
Specta Mini drone hovering over a car and four people
Want to get around the DJI drone ban AND save? Meet the Specta Mini – cheap and USA-legal!
Potensic Atom SE drone
Drones deals with the power to impress - these Potensic drones are great!
Fujifilm Fujinon LA30x7.8 BRM-XB2
Fujifilm announces development of a new 30x zoom broadcast lens ahead of NAB 2025
Pergear CFexpress 4.0 Type A Master cards
Pergear launches new super-fast AND super-cheap CFexpress Type A cards
Rokinon AF 135mm f/1.8
Huge price drops on low-cost prime lenses for Sony and Fujifilm camera users
A sleek YoloCam S7 camera body with a vertical sensor, paired with a detachable lens against a dark backdrop
The YoloCam S7 gives a novel twist to the 4K streaming camera for those recording vertical video