How Adobe’s latest updates are reshaping creative work

This year’s Adobe MAX London offered a clear glimpse into the creative future of Adobe, where AI supports, not replaces, creative professionals. With a packed programme of announcements – now available to rewatch via Adobe’s event page – it was clear that Adobe is doubling down on putting more speed, precision and flexibility into the hands of artists, designers and makers. Among the many updates, several stood out for how they’d look to reshape creative workflows, including some significant updates to Firefly. 

Firefly, Adobe’s generative AI platform, took a big leap forward with the release of Firefly Image Model 4, delivering higher realism, finer detail, and more creative control than its previous models. This update offers a new level of precision, allowing users to easily manipulate outputs, from fine-tuning camera angles to setting zoom levels. Alongside this, the Firefly Video Model was introduced, providing users with high quality, production-ready videos from simple text or image prompts. To make early-stage ideation more collaborative too, Adobe also unveiled Firefly Boards, an AI-first workspace where creatives can mood board, iterate and refine concepts together in real-time, positioning the platform as a comprehensive environment for production.

Alongside Firefly and Illustrator, Photoshop was also updated, focusing on giving creatives faster, smarter control over their ideas. A highlight is the evolution of Generative Fill, which is now equipped with the ability to use reference images to guide outputs. This means users can maintain a consistent structure, layout or visual style across different pieces of work by simply referencing an existing image. Additionally, Adobe introduced several enhancements designed to speed up everyday editing tasks. Its Select Details tool makes it easier to pick out smaller, famously tricky elements – like hair or facial features – while Adjust Colors allows for instant, intuitive tweaks to hue, saturation and brightness. Beyond cosmetic improvements, Photoshop’s update looks to fundamentally streamline the process of creating and refining imagery, keeping creatives focused on crafting the work itself rather than getting bogged down by the technicalities.

Adobe Express, Adobe’s user-friendly design and publishing app, additionally received a boost. New AI-powered video tools aim to make professional looking video creation accessible to everyone, regardless of editing experience. Clip Maker can now automatically identify the best moments in longer videos and convert them into ready-to-share social clips, saving hours of manual work. Dynamic Animation enlivens static images with natural, physics-based motion, while Generate Video uses text or image prompts to create custom b-roll and background footage, all commercially safe for use. 

With Adobe sharpening its focus on real-world, practical enhancements across its tools, it hopes to signal a clear direction – especially considering the discourse on AI in the creative space. Adobe MAX London 2025 sent the message that AI is here  (and here to stay). But, importantly, if used well, AI can support and embolden creativity, not replace it. 

For anyone looking to explore these innovations in more depth, recordings from Adobe MAX London 2025 are now available to watch here.