Author: María López

For years, if you wanted to create anything that looked remotely professional, you either had Photoshop skills or you hired someone who did. The rise of social media changed all that. Suddenly everyone needed polished visuals on a daily basis, and most people didn’t have three weeks to spare learning layer masks.

That’s the gap Canva stepped into when it launched in 2012, and it’s been the default for non-designers ever since. Adobe came back with Adobe Express in 2021, its own answer to the same problem. So which one actually serves you better in 2026?

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Adobe Express: simple enough, but with real depth

Don’t let the clean interface fool you. Adobe Express isn’t a watered-down Photoshop. It’s a fully capable design platform that works on both mobile and desktop, covering most of what non-designers actually need day to day.

Its biggest advantage over Canva comes down to ecosystem. If you already work with Photoshop, Illustrator, or Acrobat, Express slots right in. You can sync your PSD files, pull assets from your Creative Cloud libraries, and if a project turns out to need more power than Express can handle, you can pick it up directly in Photoshop without starting over.

Express also includes Adobe Firefly, Adobe’s own generative AI, and it’s a lot more capable than what Canva offers. Generate images, remove objects, make AI-driven edits. The practical difference from other models: Firefly is trained on licensed content, so you can use it commercially without the legal gray area most AI image tools drag with them.

And it’s not just images. Express includes basic video editing tools: automatic caption generation, clip editing for social media. It stops well short of Premiere, so don’t expect a full post-production workflow, but for quick social content it does the job.

When you open Adobe Express, you get a search bar front and center. Type what you want to create and templates come up immediately. Below that you’ll find quick access to start from an existing image, build from scratch, edit photos, create videos, or generate images with AI.

Find a template you want, click it, and select Customize template. The editor shows you the dimensions and lets you save it to favorites or share it with teammates. Everything you need is right there on the same screen.

When your design is ready, Download is in the upper right corner. You also get a Share option, which is useful for collaborating but particularly handy for content creators: from Share you can also schedule posts directly to your social channels without leaving the platform.

Canva: the fastest path from idea to finished design

Canva’s real edge is how little it asks of you. Someone with zero design experience can put together a poster in under five minutes and have it look decent. Express is straightforward too, but it follows Adobe’s design philosophy, which means panels, configuration layers, and options you’ll need to feel your way around, at least at first.

That accessibility is why teachers, small business owners, and content creators have made it their default tool. The template library is enormous and organized around real situations: need an Instagram post? There’s a template for it. Need a class schedule? There are hundreds, all fully customizable.

Collaboration tools are solid too. Multiple users can edit the same project at once and leave comments as they go. Canva is immediate, low-barrier, and delivers results that work for most use cases. That’s exactly why it became so dominant.

Let’s take a quick look at how it works.

Like Express, the homepage gives you a search bar for templates: posters, flyers, social media images and plenty more. If you want to start from scratch, Custom size lets you set your own dimensions before you begin.

Canva also has its own generative AI, Canva AI, accessible from the left panel. Describe what you want to create and it starts generating. It gets the job done, though if you push it you’ll notice it’s not quite at Firefly‘s level.

Saving and sharing works the same way as in Express. Share in the top right lets you add collaborators, generate a shareable link, or Download the file directly to your computer.

Which one is right for you?

If you work in education, Canva will likely become your go-to. It’s built for fast, low-friction creation, and it shows. But it’s not just for teachers: anyone putting together social content or presentations regularly will find it fits naturally into their workflow.

Adobe Express makes more sense if you already have some history with Adobe products, or if you need your output to look polished and professionally finished. It’s also the stronger choice for video editing and short-form clips.

Both platforms are free to access. You’ll hit a paywall once you want deeper template libraries or more AI generation credits, and that’s true for both. Out of the box, Canva gives you more in its free tier than Express does, but Express pulls ahead on tool quality. Firefly is in a different league from Canva AI, especially if you need AI-generated images for commercial use.

Canva wins on volume and ease of use. Adobe Express wins on professional depth. Neither choice is wrong. Pick the one that fits how you work.

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You’ve sent a PDF to a client and heard nothing back. You have no idea if they opened it, if they read past the first page, or if it got buried under fifty other emails. The proposal you spent three days polishing might as well have gone into a black hole.

That disconnect between sending a document and knowing what happens next is something Adobe Acrobat is trying to close. The latest update introduces two features that go well beyond editing and signing: an AI Assistant that works as a conversational layer over your documents, and PDF Spaces, a workspace that turns collections of files into interactive, branded experiences you can track after you share them.

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The AI Assistant: your documents, working harder

Acrobat’s AI Assistant sits inside the application and works as a conversational interface for your documents. You can ask it to summarize a 40-page report, flag changes between two versions of a contract, reorganize pages, or convert a file to a different format. The kind of tasks that eat up an afternoon when you do them by hand.

But it goes beyond document housekeeping. The AI Assistant can take what’s in your files and generate new content from it: presentations, podcast-style audio summaries, blog drafts, and social media posts. Need to turn a dense quarterly report into something a stakeholder can absorb in five minutes? Upload the document, tell the assistant what you need, and it builds a first draft you can refine.

Want a presentation? Go to the presentation creation page inside Acrobat, click Create a presentation, and select Add files to upload your source material. Write a prompt describing what you want (or pick from Adobe’s suggestions if you prefer a starting point). Choose how many slides, pick a template, add any specific images, and select Generate. From there, Adobe Express editing tools let you adjust colors, graphics, layout, and structure until it looks the way you want.

The AI Assistant also produces audio overviews from your documents. If you or your team don’t have time to read a full briefing before a meeting, an audio version gets you up to speed on the go. The script behind the audio is fully editable, so you can adjust the message before it reaches anyone.

The final decisions are still yours. The assistant accelerates the mechanical parts so you can focus on the judgment calls.

PDF Spaces: not a shared folder, but an experience

This is the feature that changes how you think about sharing documents. PDF Spaces isn’t a place to dump files so other people can download them. It’s an AI-powered workspace where you bring together PDFs, links, notes, and other documents into one environment, shape how recipients navigate the material, and turn what used to be a static file drop into something closer to a guided, interactive experience.

Think of it as the difference between emailing someone a zip file and walking them through a curated presentation of your work. When you create a PDF Space, the AI Assistant automatically generates a summary of the contents and an audio overview. From there, you can add context, reorder files to emphasize what matters most, rename documents to make the structure clear, and write your own summaries where needed. If you update a document after sharing, the Space updates too, so recipients always see the latest version without you having to resend anything.

Branded sharing

This is where it gets interesting if you work client-facing. You can add your company logo and color palette to the PDF Space before sharing it. Your recipient doesn’t open a generic Adobe interface; they open a branded, interactive experience that looks like it came from your organization. For agencies, sales teams, consultants, or anyone who sends proposals and reports externally, that kind of visual ownership over a document environment didn’t exist inside a PDF workflow before.

Personality modes

When you share a PDF Space, the AI Assistant comes along with it and can answer questions from anyone who accesses the space. But you don’t just flip a switch and hope for the best. You choose how the assistant behaves with that specific audience.

Adobe ships three prebuilt personality modes. Analyst keeps things tight: factual, citation-heavy, no filler. You’d use it for a Space full of financial reports or technical documentation where the person on the other end just wants the numbers.

Instructor is the opposite of that. It breaks down complex ideas, asks follow-up questions, and walks the recipient through the material the way a teacher would. If you’re building an onboarding package or a training module, this is the one.

Then there’s Entertainer, which goes looser and more conversational. Think marketing decks or internal comms where you need people to actually read the thing.

If none of those fit, you can create a custom assistant with specific instructions: what tone to use, what topics to focus on, and how to handle ambiguity in the source material. It stands in for you when you’re not there to answer questions yourself.

Engagement tracking

This is the part most people will wish they’d had years ago. Once you share a PDF Space, you can see who opened it, when, and whether they forwarded it. Total views, named recipients, individual activity, forwarding details, per-recipient view counts.

For a sales team, that means knowing which stakeholder actually read the proposal before the follow-up call. For HR, it means seeing whether employees engaged with the new policy update or ignored it. The data is at the Space level (not page-by-page), but it’s specific enough to make your follow-ups informed instead of blind. Branding, a conversational AI, and engagement data in one place: that’s what turns a shared document into an interactive experience.

Setting up a PDF Space, step by step

Go to the main page of Acrobat and select Create a PDF Space. In the dialog box, you can add files from Adobe cloud storage, third-party platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox, plus links and text notes. Click Add, and your PDF Space appears with an AI-generated summary on the right and the uploaded files listed on the left panel.

From here, customize the experience: reorder your files, edit the summary, add your logo, set up the AI Assistant and choose its personality, and add any context you want recipients to see up front. When you share, you pick whether recipients can only view or also collaborate by leaving comments and adding their own files.

Recipients don’t need an Acrobat Studio account to interact with the Space. They open the link, explore the material, and chat with the AI Assistant directly.

Plans and pricing

Adobe Acrobat has a free tier for viewing PDFs, but the features covered in this article require a paid plan.

If all you need is basic PDF editing, signing, form filling, and file conversion, Acrobat Standard starts at $14.99/month (annual billing). Acrobat Pro at $19.99/month adds the heavier tools: redacting sensitive content, comparing document versions, embedding images and video inside a PDF.

Neither of those includes the features this article is about. For PDF Spaces, the AI Assistant, branded sharing, engagement tracking, and the personality modes, you need Acrobat Studio at $24.99/month (annual billing). It bundles everything in Pro plus PDF Spaces, Acrobat AI Assistant, and Adobe Express Premium.

Adobe also recently launched Acrobat Express, a lighter plan that gives you the AI Assistant and PDF Spaces.

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Videos have conquered the world, or at least, the Internet. Social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube have made video the most popular way to create content. If we add generative AI to this, it opens the doors to a much freer way of creating. In the end, you provide the idea, and the AI does the rest.

Although many do not see it in a positive light, Adobe is convinced of showing creatives that AI is not their enemy, but a tool that can streamline and enhance their work. Today you can verify if that is true by trying Adobe Firefly and its AI video creation options.

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Generate videos from your words

In other Softonic articles, we have delved into how to create images with Adobe Firefly from scratch. Now, we will focus on video generation.

With Generate Video, Firefly allows us to create videos from scratch based on a simple description. Specifically, it is the Text to video option that enables us to do this. Here we will teach you how to use it step by step.

Open your browser and go to the Adobe Firefly page. Go to the central text box and change the option from Image to Video. Before typing anything, you can directly select Generate to access a more comprehensive creation panel.

Once here, on the left you will see many options. To start, you will have the Model section, where you can choose the generative model with which to create your video. Adobe’s official one is Firefly Video, but you have many more from other companies, such as Veo from Google. Each model will give you some more or fewer options; keep that in mind for your videos.

Later you will have Resolution. The resolution of a video is the number of pixels that make up the image. The more pixels, the more detail and sharpness there will be. Specify the video resolution according to what you want; these options will change depending on the model you have selected. Firefly Video, for example, gives you the option of 540p, 720p, and 1080p. With Veo, you will only be able to pick 720p and 1080p.

You can also select the video aspect ratio. This is basically the ratio between the width and height of the image. It does not indicate quality, but rather the shape of the frame. The vertical format (9:16), for example, is ideal for social media. The Frames per second section is locked at 24 FPS, and you will not be able to change it.

If you want to generate a video that mimics the composition of an existing one, you have the option to upload the reference in the Composition section. On the other hand, in the Camera section, use Shot Size to specify the framing of the main subject. With Camera Angle, you can select the type of shots the video will have, and finally, in Motion, you will guide the camera movement.

Don’t forget to write in the Prompt box the video you want to generate. Be specific and concise to improve your generations. In the Advanced Settings section, you can use the Seed option to add a seed number that helps to start the generation process.

The seed is a numerical value that AI uses to determine where to start generating a video or an image. Contrary to what you might believe, AI does not begin to create out of thin air. This part starts from an initial point full of noise, which you can imagine as a “cloud” of pixels. The seed indicates the starting point. If you change the seed, you change the beginning and, therefore, the results as well. You can experiment with it to see how it affects your generations.

Images that come to life with AI

If you want to give movement to an image and make it look like a video, you can also do it with Firefly. Just like before, you’ll see that it’s a simple process and won’t take too much time.

Just like before, we go to the central text box, switch to Video, and click on Generate. Here we will return to the Generate page. Now, we head to References and drag the image we want to animate. Optionally, you can also include another image that is the final frame.

Select the resolution you want and the aspect ratio that matches what you wish to create. Just like with video generation, here you can configure everything that the generative model you have chosen allows you to.

When you finish writing your prompt, click on Generate and wait for Firefly to do its work. If you are not happy with your work, you can change the options and even your prompt to see different results. If you like what you see, click above on Download to get your animated image. Keep in mind that it will be downloaded as a video.

Generative credits: this is how they work

Generative credits is the system created by Adobe to limit the use of AI in Adobe Firefly and certain functions in Photoshop, Illustrator, and others. Every time you use an AI-powered function within Adobe, you will consume credits.

In the case of Firefly, video generations cost many more credits than image generations. This also varies depending on the model you use; Adobe’s consume fewer credits than third-party ones. Each user has a monthly credit allocation based on the plan they are subscribed to, and you can buy more from Adobe.

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Have you ever generated images using AI? If the answer is yes, it is very likely that the results were good but with unconvincing details. It is not uncommon to see faces with strange pupils, extra fingers on hands, or people in awkward positions.

Although AI-generated images and videos have conquered the Internet, these generations still face significant problems of realism and context. Despite the good results they may yield on many occasions, human hands are still needed to create quality content, as we will see below.

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The biggest problem of AI: the lack of direction and intentionality

AI can be an excellent tool, as long as you know how to use it. The great potential of this technology can blind many people who use it. How? By sidelining the intentionality in favor of the first thing that AI can create that looks good. Mistake.

One of the major flaws of AI lies in how generic its results can be. If you pay attention to that type of content, you are likely to notice certain patterns that repeat continuously. It doesn’t matter whether they are images, texts, or videos; these patterns are present in all of them.

For many, AI has become an excellent tool to get by. If what you want is to stand out and enhance your projects, you can’t let AI do everything for you.

AI does not compensate for your technical shortcomings

On the other hand, it is very important to have basic technical knowledge to improve what AI can offer us. AI can help you generate the foundation of your project or materialize ideas that you have rolling around in your head.

You must keep in mind that this content will never exactly reflect what you have in your head. Therefore, having certain knowledge will help you refine what the AI can offer you. Knowing how to use Photoshop, for example, will help you fine-tune the generated content and bring it closer to your own vision.

Get Started with Adobe Firefly

As we mentioned before, we must have clear ideas. Ask yourself what the objective of your project is, what format it will have, and for what (or whom) it is intended. Adobe Firefly, Adobe’s platform, will help us create the image we need.

For those who don’t know, Adobe Firefly is Adobe’s artificial intelligence platform, primarily focused on audiovisual creation. It also encompasses a set of models and tools integrated into applications like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and more.

You can access the Adobe Firefly platform through any web browser or from the official app on iOS or Android. In both cases, the operation is very similar. Upon entering, the first thing we will see is a large sign with the phrase “What would you like to generate” along with a text box below. This is where we will need to describe what we want to generate. This description is what is known as a prompt.

There you can also choose between Image and Video, depending on what you want to create. Keep in mind that each generation you make will consume generative credits. These vary depending on the type of generation (videos consume more than images) and the model used. You can choose between Adobe models (Firefly and its different versions) or other well-known third-party models (Gemini, GPT Image, etc).

If you already have your description clear, the chosen model, and the type of content, click on Generate and wait to see your results. Don’t obsess over perfection, use these generations as a foundation to work on and iterate. Make sure there are elements like good composition, important elements, and so on. Then we will take it to Photoshop.

The project in Adobe Photoshop continues

In Photoshop, you can take the results of Firefly and make more complex adjustments in addition to using other AI functions, such as Generative Fill or Generative Expand.

Generative Fill will help you to remove certain elements from the image or to include new ones. To use it, you just need to click on any selection tool (lasso, magic wand, marquee, etc.) and then select the area of the image you want to retouch, whether to remove an object or add one.

Right below your selection, a floating toolbar will appear with the Generative Fill option. If that toolbar does not appear, you will need to go to View > Contextual Task Bar to make it appear. You also have another option; after making the selection, you can go to Edit > Generative Fill.

Generative Expand, on the other hand, will help you expand the margins of your canvas while the AI “fills in” the gaps. Select the Crop Tool to access this option. Again, a contextual bar will appear with the Generative Expand option. Drag the edge of the canvas outside the limits and leave it in the position you want.

Within Photoshop, you have the tools to make all kinds of retouches. A simple yet very effective adjustment can be framing adjustment. Good compositions are the foundation of a good image. Rearrange elements if necessary; the results will be better.

You can do this by activating the composition guides. The guides appear as floating lines that can be moved or deleted as needed. To activate the guides, go to View > Guides > New Guide. A new window will appear where you will need to designate the orientation of the guide line (horizontal or vertical), the position, and the color. To create more complex guides, you will need to go to View > Guides > New Guide Layout.

Once you have everything in place, it’s time to focus on color. Within Photoshop, we can alter curves, change color temperature, adjust brightness… In the end, the goal is to make everything have the same visual tone and atmosphere. If you scroll down from the Layers panel itself, you will see the option to create Adjustments Layers. From there, you can create specific layers that adjust everything related to color.

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Do you think your edits look unreal or too artificial? Do you want to create some kind of effect, but it just doesn’t come out right? These are very common problems, both for professionals and amateurs. Not everyone is born knowing, and many times we need to rely on trial and error to reach the goal we set for ourselves.

Here we will try to save you time and steps by explaining what you should avoid from the start to achieve the best possible results without dying in the attempt. To do this, we will focus on Adobe Photoshop, one of the best image editing programs you will find today.

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Use the right program for every moment

One of the most common mistakes is not being clear about which program to use depending on the moment. If we are purely editing photography, for example, it might be better to go to Adobe Lightroom first rather than Photoshop.

Yes, it is true that you can edit your photographs with Photoshop and achieve excellent results. However, Adobe Lightroom is purely focused on photo editing, with everything that entails in terms of tools and functions. Adjusting saturation levels, brightness, exposure, color grading… everything in Lightroom is designed for you to get the most out of your photographs.

Make sure you have a good monitor

This advice is useful for everyone, especially for those looking to be professionals. Having a calibrated screen will allow us to edit any type of image correctly and ensure that it looks good on other devices or when printed.

There are very specific (and expensive) tools that are designed specifically for calibrating screens. Fortunately, most current monitors have options for you to calibrate the color and brightness yourself. In case they don’t, you can also use free tools, such as the monitor test Lagom. Both Windows and MacOS also offer their own tools for calibrating monitors.

Use Photoshop Layers

If you have decided to use Photoshop to edit your images, it is imperative that you use layers. This allows us to perform a non-destructive editing, meaning we do not modify the original image, but rather work on top of it.

This will help us separate text, background, effects… and treat each section independently. We will be able to move the text around without problems, change colors without altering everything, and much more. As seen in the screenshot, to create a new layer in your project, you just need to go to the Layers section and click on the + symbol that you will see in the bottom area.

Do not abuse AI or its effects

Recently, Adobe Photoshop has integrated AI tools powered by Adobe Firefly within the program, with the aim of helping us edit better and faster. While AI is an excellent aid on many occasions, using it unchecked will lead to very artificial results.

One of the most useful features of Photoshop is Generative Fill. To use it, select any selection tool (Lasso, Magic Wand, etc.) and draw the area you want to replace or change.

After that, you will see a contextual bar with the option Generative Fill. If the bar does not appear, you can make it appear from Window > Contextual Task Bar.

A text box will open where you will have to describe what you want to add (use a prompt). If you don’t write anything, Photoshop will interpret the environment and fill it in automatically. This is ideal if you would like to remove an object from the image, for example. The generated content will appear on a separate layer with a mask. From there, you can modify the opacity, erase parts, or do whatever you want.

Generative Fill will work best if you use concise and clear descriptions, where you clearly explain what you want and how. From there, you can also manually modify the result to further tailor it to your needs.

Don’t abuse AI if you don’t need it. If you solve everything this way, you will set aside your visual judgment and worsen your technique. You must guide the tool and not let it drag you; that is what differentiates a professional from someone who is not.

Think before you act

Many of us jump in recklessly and start adding an effect here, an object there, which will increase the chances of ending up with a pastiche that doesn’t make much sense. Experimenting is great, but if that’s not your goal, take a moment.

Look at the image carefully. What do you want to improve? Where do you want to direct attention? What feelings do you want to evoke exactly? Asking yourself these types of questions before opening Photoshop will save you a lot of time and headaches.

Composition and Control of Negative Spaces

Prioritizing a good composition will make an image look harmonious and pleasant to the eye. Knowing where to place certain elements will help us direct the viewer’s gaze and guide them where we want.

On the other hand, we must understand negative space as a structure. It serves to isolate a subject, give it air, and avoid visual noise. When you leave space, our mind “breathes” and better understands what is happening in the image.

Within Photoshop, we can activate the rulers to help us. Go to View > Rulers to enable them. When they appear on the edges, we can place horizontal and vertical guides by clicking on the rulers and dragging them onto the canvas.

If you need more accuracy, you can also click on View > Guides > New Guide Layout. From there, you can automatically generate columns, rows, and margins. It is ideal for applying the rule of thirds (3 columns by 3 rows), as you can see in the image.

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For years, the creation of professional digital images has followed very routine and established processes. Now, where time is most wasted is not in conceiving the idea, but in bringing it to reality, whether due to the use of constantly changing programs or by sticking with an outdated system.

For creatives, Adobe can work very well due to the fact that it offers new tools updated to what these times demand. Here we will show you some of the most interesting features of Adobe Illustrator so you can apply them to your work.

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View objects from different angles

One of the most striking new features of Adobe Illustrator is the Turntable function. Powered by Adobe Firefly, it will allow us to take any flat object and “rotate” it in space as if it were a 3D model.

To start using it, open your project in Illustrator, or create a new one. In the project, use the Selection tool and select the item you want to flip. Then, select Object > Generative > Turntable.

In a matter of seconds, Turntable will generate new angles and views for you. You will see a new generative object (it will be marked with a symbol), which will be the point from where you can rotate it. The original image will be right below.

Right below you will see how a new contextual bar appears, from where you can rotate the object to your liking. If you don’t see it, click with the selection tool on the generated object and select Turntable in the contextual bar. In this menu, you can rotate the object, change the tilt, place all views on the canvas, or export as GIF, among other options.

If you want to edit any of the views, you have to do it this way if you don’t want to lose the changes immediately. First, you need to select the generated object, move the slider to place it in the view you are interested in, and make right click > Ungroup. This causes it to lose all its previous properties and become a normal object. That’s when you can edit without any issues.

Every time you use this function it will cost 20 generative credits, so keep that in mind for future occasions. You can also give feedback on the result by clicking on the three dots in the contextual bar (More options) and selecting from the options of Good result, Poor result, or even Report variation if the result is offensive.

Generate images with Text to Vector Graphic

With Text to Vector Graphic you can do exactly that, generate vector graphics in a way similar to the Generative Fill function in Photoshop. Here’s how it works within Illustrator.

Select the Rectangle tool, which is located in the toolbar, and create a rectangle on your project canvas. Then, select it again with Selection.

You will see a small horizontal context menu appear. There, click on Generate Vectors. There is another way to do the same, which is from Object > Generative.

Within the text box, describe what you want to appear (prompt). Illustrator itself will offer you suggestions in case you are not quite sure what to generate. If you don’t like the option, you can always disable it from View all settings by turning off Suggestions. Once you have your prompt ready, click on Continue to generate the image.

Just like in Photoshop, you can choose the generative model that Illustrator will use. If you don’t mind much, you can click on Auto Select to have one selected automatically. If not, you can always choose from Adobe’s models and others from third parties.

Next, you will be able to modify many details of the generation from the Properties panel. There you will find the Variations section, where you will see other results of graphics based on your same prompt. You can choose one of them or keep trying with new generations until you get what you need.

Right below the box where the prompt is located, you can access the options for Content type and detail. Within Content Type, you can specify between Scene, Subject, or Icon, depending on what graphic you want to generate. Then, with the Detail slider, you can adjust the level of detail of the generated result.

If you want to create a chart that follows a particular aesthetic, within Style Reference you can configure it. Leave it on Auto if you want the future chart to simulate the style of the vector objects from the rest of the canvas. If you want it to imitate the style of a specific object, select Choose asset and then click on that object.

Finally, we have the section on Color and Tone. Within Color and Tone, we have Color Presets, Nº of colors, and Specify Colors. The last one, Specify Colors, is very interesting because it will allow us to choose which colors the generated chart should have, with a maximum of 12. You can add and remove colors as you wish and at any time.

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Creating quality content is a challenge, regardless of who is in charge. The difference is that, with artificial intelligence, producing is no longer a problem. We can generate texts, images, or sounds in a matter of seconds. However, it is easier to fall into the trap of being generic and mediocre.

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That’s why the key lies in knowing how to use what AI offers us. Adobe Photoshop has been and continues to be one of the most used programs in the creative industry, precisely for knowing how to use technology to assist and enhance rather than replace.

Precise editing with a purpose, the true challenge to follow

There is something more complex than using Photoshop, and that is having clear ideas. Conceiving ideas for advertising images, designs, or any type of illustration is a process where you start with sketches and prototypes before materializing your final idea.

In addition to Photoshop, you can use other programs like Adobe Firefly, a platform that you can access through a web browser or from the mobile app.

This is how you can use Adobe Photoshop’s AI assistant in its web version

One of the latest innovations that Adobe has launched is the AI assistant within Photoshop. It is a conversational AI that will allow you to quickly edit your images without sacrificing quality.

And it’s as easy as you imagine: you just have to describe the changes you want to make. These can be color changes, light adjustments, background changes, etc. As a quite interesting novelty, the assistant not only executes the action but also teaches you step by step how it was done.

You can do this from the web version of Adobe Photoshop and the app available for iOS and Android. When accessing from the web, you will see a toolbar just below with the AI markup (beta).

By clicking on it, we will see a new panel where we will have two options: to leave notes or to draw directly on the canvas. The latter option is represented by the symbol of a brush. With it, you can lightly sketch what you want and add instructions to control how the changes are made.

On the left, you will see how you can also modify the brush settings, which will allow you to make more elaborate drawings in the long run. In this case, we have drawn some hearts around the image and described below that they should float and be realistic.

Currently, you can choose between Gemini 2.5 and Gemini 3.0 as generative models for the edits. The former is free for now, but the latter costs generative credits. Specifically, it is 40 credits for each variation. If you are one of those who use the free version of Photoshop Web, you can start with 20 free generations.

In the mobile application, we will have a clearly visible button to access the AI Assistant from where we can write exactly what we want to edit. It couldn’t be easier. Its beta version is now publicly available and accessible to Adobe users.

Generative Fill: this is how it works

The classic Photoshop, the desktop version, will always be the most comprehensive tool for carrying out your projects. Among its many functions, there is one that will be very useful to you, Generative Fill. With it, you can make a selection in an image, describe what you want to add, and then Photoshop will generate new content non-destructively (on a separate layer).

To use it, open an image in Adobe Photoshop and decide which area you want to change. Then, use the selection tool on that area. You can use Lasso, Selection Brush, Rectangular Marquee… any selection tool is valid.

Once you have made your selection, click on Generative Fill in the small contextual menu that will appear next. From there, you can also choose the AI model you want to use, selecting from Firefly’s own models and third-party models (Gemini, GPT Image, etc).

Then, you can do two things. The first is to write a prompt, which is the description of what you want to generate. The second option is to leave the prompt text box empty. The latter will help Photoshop fill in the area of the image coherently, ideal for removing objects or people. Decide what to do and, when you are clear, press Generate.

Photoshop will generate several options and you can choose the one that suits you best from the Properties panel. If none of them appeal to you, you can generate more. Don’t settle for the first one if you don’t like what you see; the generations improve as you create more.

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With Generative Fill you can remove things, add new objects, replace elements of the image… experiment and try it for yourself.

Being creative and not dying in the attempt has become increasingly difficult. The marketing industry has always faced the same problem, high production costs. The most expensive decisions are made when there is the least time to correct them. Once a campaign is underway, changing something costs much more time, money, and patience.

With the establishment of generative AI, we have a system to validate ideas before executing them. Beyond the technical aspects, with tools like Adobe Firefly, we can preview what we want and be more efficient. If you want to know how to make the most of it, keep reading below.

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The Creative Gap, one of our worst enemies

When we talk about Creative Gap, we refer to that gap between what we imagine and what is ultimately produced in reality. In the long run, it can represent a significant black hole of money if we do not manage our expectations well.

It can happen at any time, like in the studio photograph, for example. In some cases, the actual result may not be what you expected, which means repeating sessions, investing more effort, and ultimately causing delays.

Here Adobe Firefly can help you solve this. In addition to Adobe’s proprietary generative model, Firefly Image 5, you can use Gemini 3.1 (Nano Banana 2), GPT Image 1, or FLUX. This way, you can imagine how certain types of photos, poses, or lighting styles would look before bringing the concept to reality.

How to use Adobe Firefly to bring our ideas to life

Since its launch, Adobe Firefly has become more powerful and capable. Currently, we have two ways to access it: the browser on our computer or the mobile app, available for iOS and Android. While you can generate content from both locations, through the browser you will have access to more options, such as Boards.

If you want to see how your ideas can be materialized in an image, use the Create function, the most important one in Firefly. It’s very easy to use; as soon as you enter the page, you will see a box where you can write your prompt, that is, describe what you want to generate as an image.

From here you can also choose what type of content to generate (images or videos) from the Image tab, which will be set as the default option. If you choose Image, on the right you will see another tab to switch to a generative model. As we mentioned before, you can choose from different Firefly models and other partner models (Gemini, GPT, FLUX…)

Each of them works better in different contexts. To create realistic photos, for example, the Gemini models can be a good option. Additionally, each model has a different cost of generative credits, as we will see later. Firefly Image 5, for example, uses 10 credits while Gemini 3.1 uses 40 credits.

After writing what you want to generate, select Generate to see the result. This is the fastest way we have to create content, but we can also further customize the result and obtain more refined things by clicking on More.

By doing so, you will enter a new screen where you will see on the right the settings that you can modify in order to generate images. In General settings, you can also choose the model, the image size from Aspect ratio, and the resolution. You can also complement your creations by allowing Google Search to be used by activating the tab.

Further down you can add up to six reference images. This will help to “guide” the model better when bringing your ideas to life. Here you can add references for colors, artistic styles… anything you think might be useful for your images.

Once you have generated the image or images, Firefly also allows you to edit them. At the top, you will see three different sections: Gallery, Generate, and Edit. If you select the image, you will automatically switch to Edit. You can switch between sections at any time.

In Edit, we will see our image in the center and in the text box located below, we can write what we want to change and how. Just like when generating, the changes cost generative credits and vary depending on the model you want to use.

On the left, we will see several tools that will also help us edit the image more precisely. Prompt, the first one, allows us to edit images with written descriptions. With Markup we can leave notes on the image (Text) to make very specific changes and even draw (Brush and Region) on it to be more visual when editing.

We also have Precision Flow, which will allow us to regulate the described changes. With Generative Fill, we can add new elements to the area we want in the image. Generative Remove will help us do the opposite, removing any object from a specific place, previously marked by us. Generative Expand is used to increase the boundaries of the image with generated content. Finally, we have Generative Upscale, which is used to increase the resolution of the image if needed.

At the very bottom, you will see the option to Remove Background, which is used to do exactly that, remove the background from the image almost instantly. Use all the options we have explained here to experiment with your ideas and see if they can be carried out in other media.

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