Adobe Unveils New AI Enhancements for Creative Cloud at Max 2024

It's hard to believe a year has passed since Adobe unveiled Generative Fill at Adobe Max 2023, their annual creative conference. Since then, Generative Fill, along with Generative Expand and Generate Image, has become an indispensable part of my Photoshop workflow. It feels like I've been using them forever.

With Adobe Max rolling around once more, the company has just launched a slew of new AI features. We'll dive deeper into these in upcoming articles as the event unfolds.

Photoshop

On the Photoshop front, two new features are set to make photo editors' lives easier and save them a ton of time. Adobe dubs this "distraction removal smart technology," which, if I'm being honest, sounds like something straight out of a marketing playbook.

One of these tools is designed to remove cables and wires from photos effortlessly. You know those annoying phone wires, power cables, and other tiny lines that can ruin your shots and take ages to edit out? Now, they're gone with just one click.

Another addition, which I've humorously dubbed the "Post-Apocalyptic" effect, allows you to remove groups of people from your images. Simply select the group, apply the effect, and—poof—they're gone. This feature is called Find Distractions and is accessible once you select the Remove tool.

Unmesh Dinda has a fantastic demo of the Remove Distractions feature in the beta version over on his PiXimperfect YouTube channel. While you're there, don't miss out on marveling at his perfect hair. It's almost a special effect in itself—think Captain Pike-level impressive, though not quite Ancient Aliens hair.

Adobe is also rolling out a tool for editing 3D objects in 2D space and introducing Generative Workspace, an "ideation" and brainstorming tool that we'll learn more about soon.

Premiere

Premiere's new standout feature is the Adobe Firefly Video Model, currently in beta, which leverages AI to generate video content. It offers three modes: text to video, generative expand (adding frames to continue an action), and the ability to extend footage to match a music track, all powered by Adobe's Firefly AI technology.

I switched away from Premiere years ago due to frequent crashes, but the product has since improved dramatically. Yet, switching back involves rebuilding muscle memory and infrastructure, which is a significant time investment I'm reluctant to make. It's a form of voluntary lock-in.

Still, the new AI-generated video feature in Premiere looks promising. It could be great for creating generic B-roll footage, like scenes of kids in classrooms or people in parks. However, there are limits. I wouldn't expect it to work for specific actions like changing filament on a 3D printer or tanks driving down Main Street, given Adobe's asset limitations and content restrictions.

Currently, Final Cut doesn't offer similar AI features, so I'm considering firing up Premiere to generate simple B-roll clips and then exporting them for use in my Final Cut projects. It's an intriguing prospect, and I'll share my experience if I decide to incorporate it into my workflow.

Other Creative Cloud Creations to Look Forward To

This summer, I showcased Illustrator's vector generative fill and discussed its game-changing potential. Adobe is pushing forward with Illustrator, adding an Objects on Path feature that lets users move objects along any path in their designs.

They've also enhanced the Image Trace feature, making it easier to convert bitmap images into vectors. This is a much-needed upgrade that could greatly benefit from AI enhancements.

Lightroom now includes a Generative Remove feature. While it's not clear how it differs from the wire and people distraction removal tools in Photoshop, my insider sources suggest it can remove anything.

Adobe is also teasing "Powerful New Innovations for Photographers." While specifics are scarce, my source, Deep Pixel, assures me it's going to be impressive.

That's all for now. The ZDNET news team is providing in-depth coverage of Adobe Max, so stay tuned for more details and announcements. I'll be back soon with hands-on tests of these new features.

What are you most excited about? Have you used the generative AI features introduced over the past year? Have they saved you time? Let us know in the comments below.

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