AI Usage at a Glance
Jan 9, 2019
RecommendationPractice documented: Adobe Stock offers a Find Similar feature that uses an AI image-similarity engine to surface stock assets that visually match a selected image, allowing users to search by content, color, or composition instead of — or in addition to — text keywords.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Sep 13, 2023
OtherPractice documented: Adobe uses licensed images, vectors, illustrations, and videos contributed to Adobe Stock as training data for its Adobe Firefly family of generative AI models, and pays eligible contributors an annual bonus tied to the volume and licensing performance of their assets used in training.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Oct 12, 2023
Creative GenPractice documented: Adobe Stock offers a text-to-image generation tool, powered by Adobe Firefly, that lets subscribers type a description and receive AI-generated images ready for commercial licensing. The feature launched for Individual and Teams subscribers in October 2023.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Jan 1, 2024
Creative GenNew evidence: Stock AI Images - Text-to-Image creation
Evidence AddedView practice →Mar 26, 2024
ModerationPractice documented: Adobe Stock uses AI-powered moderation systems to categorize and screen contributor-submitted assets for policy violations, including detecting the use of artist names in AI-generated content metadata and flagging content that may violate intellectual property guidelines.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Apr 16, 2024
ModerationNew evidence: Growing responsibly in the age of AI: Adobe Firefly and Stock
Evidence AddedView practice →Sep 10, 2024
ModerationNew evidence: Adobe Stock's continued commitment to creators in the era of Generative AI
Evidence AddedView practice →Sep 13, 2024
ModerationNew evidence: Adobe: Firefly AI Trained on Licensed Content, Not User Data
Evidence AddedView practice →Nov 12, 2024
Creative GenPractice documented: Adobe Stock offers AI-powered editing tools, branded as Generative Edits and Generative Variations, that let all stock customers modify existing licensed images before downloading, using features such as background removal, background replacement, image expansion, and style or composition changes. These tools were first made available to business customers in 2024 and became generally available to all stock customers in November 2024.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Nov 13, 2024
Creative GenNew evidence: Adobe Brings Even More Generative AI to Adobe Stock
Evidence AddedView practice →Feb 10, 2025
RecommendationNew evidence: Find assets similar to another asset in Adobe Stock
Evidence AddedView practice →Apr 1, 2025
OtherNew evidence: Adobe Firefly - Free Generative AI for Creatives
Evidence AddedView practice →Sep 16, 2025
OtherNew evidence: Firefly FAQ for Adobe Stock Contributors
Evidence AddedView practice →Apr 1, 2026
Creative GenPractice documented: Adobe Stock deployed AI Studio, a suite of AI-powered editing tools built directly into the Adobe Stock website, in April 2026, replacing the earlier Customize feature. AI Studio lets users edit images and video clips before licensing them, including animating still photos into short video clips and auto-matching audio to video.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Apr 13, 2026
Creative GenNew evidence: Discover and perfect great content with Adobe Stock's new site
Evidence AddedView practice →Apr 14, 2026
Creative GenNew evidence: Adobe releases new AI-driven capabilities for video users
Evidence AddedView practice →Adobe Stock offers a Find Similar feature that uses an AI image-similarity engine to surface stock assets that visually match a selected image, allowing users to search by content, color, or composition instead of — or in addition to — text keywords.
The Find Similar system accepts an image (either from Adobe Stock search results or uploaded by the user) as input and produces a ranked list of visually similar stock images and videos as output. The underlying technology uses machine learning models that convert images into dense numerical vectors (embeddings) and then compute similarity scores across the collection. Users can refine results by sub-filters: Content (similar subject matter), Color (matching palette), or Composition (similar layout and depth). Adobe's engineering blog described the system as built in partnership with Adobe Research and the Adobe Sensei team.
Adobe Stock offers AI-powered editing tools, branded as Generative Edits and Generative Variations, that let all stock customers modify existing licensed images before downloading, using features such as background removal, background replacement, image expansion, and style or composition changes. These tools were first made available to business customers in 2024 and became generally available to all stock customers in November 2024.
Adobe Stock deployed AI Studio, a suite of AI-powered editing tools built directly into the Adobe Stock website, in April 2026, replacing the earlier Customize feature. AI Studio lets users edit images and video clips before licensing them, including animating still photos into short video clips and auto-matching audio to video.
Adobe Stock offers a text-to-image generation tool, powered by Adobe Firefly, that lets subscribers type a description and receive AI-generated images ready for commercial licensing. The feature launched for Individual and Teams subscribers in October 2023.
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Adobe Stock offers AI-powered editing tools, branded as Generative Edits and Generative Variations, that let all stock customers modify existing licensed images before downloading, using features such as background removal, background replacement, image expansion, and style or composition changes. These tools were first made available to business customers in 2024 and became generally available to all stock customers in November 2024.
These tools are powered by Adobe Firefly and operate on existing Adobe Stock images as a reference. Inputs include a selected stock image plus optional text prompts describing the desired change; outputs are modified or newly generated images reflecting those changes. Specific capabilities include Replace Background (swaps the background via text prompt), Expand Image (extends the image to a new aspect ratio), Style (applies the aesthetic of one stock image to a new generation), and Composition (matches the layout and depth of a reference image). Generating an edited image consumes a generative credit; downloading the resulting image may also consume a stock credit depending on plan type. Contributors whose stock images serve as references receive compensation when the generated output is downloaded.
Adobe uses licensed images, vectors, illustrations, and videos contributed to Adobe Stock as training data for its Adobe Firefly family of generative AI models, and pays eligible contributors an annual bonus tied to the volume and licensing performance of their assets used in training.
Adobe confirmed that Firefly's first commercially released model was trained on Adobe Stock licensed content, openly licensed content, and public domain content where copyright has expired. Contributor agreement terms permit this use. Adobe pays contributors a discretionary annual Firefly Contributor Bonus: the 2023 bonus covered data used from June 2022–June 2023; the 2024 bonus added videos for the first time; and the 2025 bonus covered data from June 2024–June 2025. Bonus amounts vary per contributor and are weighted by the number of licensed assets. Adobe confirmed in its official Firefly FAQ that it does not allow contributors to opt out of having their content used for training.
