Adobe Expands Firefly AI Suite with New Models and Third-Party Integrations

Adobe releases new Firefly image generation models and a redesigned Firefly web app | TechCrunch

Adobe on Thursday launched the latest iteration of its Firefly family of image generation AI models, a model for generating vectors, and a redesigned web app that houses all its AI models, plus some from its competitors. There's also a mobile app for Firefly in the works. The new Firefly Image Model 4, Adobe says, improves on its predecessors in terms of quality, speed and the amount of control over the structure and style of outputs, camera angles, and zoom. It can generate images in resolutions up to 2K. There's also a tweaked, more capable version of this model called Image Model 4 Ultra that can render complex scenes consisting of small structures and lots of detail. Alexandru Costin, VP of Generative AI at Adobe, said that the company trained the models with a higher order of compute magnitude to enable them to generate more detailed images. He added that, as compared to previous generation models, the new models improve text generation in images and have features that let users use images of their choice to get the model to generate pictures in that style. The company is also making its Firefly video model, which launched in limited beta last year, available to everyone. It lets users generate video clips from a text prompt or image, use camera angles, specify start and end frames to control shots, generate atmospheric elements, and customize motion design elements. The model can generate video clips from text at resolutions up to 1080p. Meanwhile, the Firefly Vector Model can create editable vector-based artwork, iterate and generate variations of logos, product packaging, icons, scenes, and patterns. Notably, Firefly's web app gives you access to all these models as well as a few image and video generation models from OpenAI (GPT image generation), Google (Imagen 3 and Veo 2) and Flux (Flux 1.1 Pro). Users can switch between any of these models at any point, and images generated from any model will have content credentials attached to them. The company hinted that other AI models may be added to the web app in the future. Adobe is also publicly testing a new product called Firefly Boards, a canvas for ideation or moodboarding. It lets users generate or import images, remix them, and collaborate with others -- similar to what you can do with other AI-based ideaboards from Visual Electric, Cove or Kosmik. Boards is available through the Firefly web app. The company said these new models would soon be integrated into its product portfolio, but didn't give a timeline for the rollout. Adobe is also making its Text-to-Image API and Avatar API generally available, and said a new Text-to-Video API is now available for use in beta. These APIs are available through the company's Firefly Services collection of APIs, tools and services. Adobe is also testing a web app called Adobe Content Authenticity to let users attach credentials to their work to indicate ownership and attribution through metadata. Users can also indicate whether AI companies can use any images for AI model training.

You Can Use ChatGPT, Veo 2 and Imagen 3 in Adobe Firefly Now

Katelyn is a writer with CNET covering social media, AI and online services. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in media and journalism. You can often find her with a novel and an iced coffee during her time off. Adobe is overhauling its Firefly family of AI models. At Adobe Max London, the company announced two new AI image models, Firefly 4 and 4 Ultra and a new canvas board workspace called Firefly Boards. It's also bringing its video generator out of beta to public release. Oh, and the company is partnering with OpenAI and Google to bring its AI models into Firefly. Its content credentials app is in public beta now, free for anyone to use to sign their work and denote generative AI use, not just Adobe subscribers. Adobe can verify your identity because it's also partnered with LinkedIn. That's a lot of news -- let's break it all down. First, Firefly's new generation of AI image models is here. They come in two flavors, Firefly 4 and 4 Ultra. Firefly 4 is meant to be for when you want to generate visuals quickly and efficiently. It has some improvements over the current model, but the true leaps forward are in 4 Ultra. The most advanced image model from Adobe yet, 4 Ultra creates what Adobe calls "impeccable detail and realism." Firefly 4 Ultra is better at handling detail-intensive scenes and creating more realistic-looking humans (a notorious challenge for AI). The Firefly video model is officially now generally available -- not a huge change since anyone could pay to try it out when it was opened to the public in beta in February. The Firefly AI video generator has many advanced controls -- you can pick the camera motion and angle, in addition to all the other customization options that are necessary for creating good AI clips. Firefly videos are 5-second-long clips with no sound. You're able to generate in 540p, 720p and 1080p -- lower-resolution videos are generated quicker. You can do text-to-video prompts and add images as style and composition references. All the new AI models are available now for Adobe users with a Creative Cloud subscription -- including the video model, unlike before. If you're just interested in Firefly AI, you can still nab a cheaper, more limited Firefly standard or pro plan without tacking on additional Adobe programs. Firefly AI not your jam? No need to switch to another program. In surprising news, Adobe has partnered with OpenAI, Google, and a few other AI creative companies to bring third-party models into Adobe Firefly. The models available now include ChatGPT's native image generator, Google's Imagen 3, Flux 1.1 and Google's Veo 2 for video. Other models slated for future integration include those from fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway. Typically, when you use an AI model, you have to agree to its privacy and training policies, no matter where you use it. But when you use third-party models through Adobe Firefly, the other companies must agree to abide by Adobe's AI policy, which forbids the company from training on user content. That means if you want to create images with ChatGPT but not let the company access your data, you can do that through Firefly -- even though ChatGPT's policy might otherwise allow the company to train if you use it through their app or website. This is a major win for creators concerned about privacy while using AI, and Adobe hopes it gives its professional creators some peace of mind when using AI products through Firefly. This is also markedly different from Canva's AI product terms, which say that your data can be shared with third-party companies like OpenAI, which "may not provide the same level of protection." You can check out Adobe's full privacy policy and generative AI guidelines for more info. Rounding out the Firefly news is a new project called Firefly Boards. It's a kind of infinite digital canvas workspace. You can use it to create moodboards, storyboards or generally any kind of creative planning. One of the unique features in Boards is called Remix, which lets you select different images to combine. Firefly will analyze the photos, automatically write a prompt, and generate image variations that combine the elements and styles of the original images. And if you're a true Firefly fan, there's one last piece of news: Adobe confirmed it is working on a true mobile app for Firefly. There's no set release date yet, but it promises to include new optimizations and features different from the current web app.

You Can Use OpenAI and Google AI Image Models in Adobe Firefly Now

Adobe just dropped the next generation of its Firefly AI models. At its Adobe Max London event, the company announced two new AI image models, Firefly 4 and 4 Ultra, and a new canvas board workspace called Firefly Boards. It's also bringing its video generator out of beta to public release. Oh, and the company is partnering with OpenAI and Google to bring its AI models into Firefly. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) Adobe's content credentials app is in public beta now, free for anyone to use to sign their work and denote generative AI use, not just Adobe subscribers. Adobe can verify your identity because it's also partnered with LinkedIn. That's a lot of news -- let's break it all down. First, Firefly's new generation of AI image models is here. They come in two flavors, Firefly 4 and 4 Ultra. Firefly 4 is meant to be for when you want to generate visuals quickly and efficiently. It has some improvements over the current model, but the true leaps forward are in 4 Ultra. The most advanced image model from Adobe yet, 4 Ultra creates what Adobe calls "impeccable detail and realism." Firefly 4 Ultra is better at handling detail-intensive scenes and creating more realistic-looking humans (a notorious challenge for AI). The Firefly video model is officially now generally available -- not a huge change since anyone could pay to try it out when it was opened to the public in beta in February. The Firefly AI video generator has many advanced controls -- you can pick the camera motion and angle, in addition to all the other customization options that are necessary for creating good AI clips. Firefly videos are 5-second-long clips with no sound. You're able to generate in 540p, 720p and 1080p -- lower-resolution videos are generated quicker. You can do text-to-video prompts and add images as style and composition references. All the new AI models are available now for Adobe users with a Creative Cloud subscription -- including the video model, unlike before. If you're just interested in Firefly AI, you can still nab a cheaper, more limited Firefly standard or pro plan without tacking on additional Adobe programs. Firefly AI not your jam? No need to switch to another program. In surprising news, Adobe has partnered with OpenAI, Google and a few other AI creative companies to bring third-party models into Adobe Firefly. The models available now include ChatGPT's native image generator, Google's Imagen 3, Flux 1.1 and Google's Veo 2 for video. Other models slated for future integration include those from fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway. Typically, when you use an AI model, you have to agree to its privacy and training policies, no matter where you use it. But when you use third-party models through Adobe Firefly, the other companies must agree to abide by Adobe's AI policy, which forbids the company from training on user content. That means if you want to create images with ChatGPT, but not let the company access your data, you can do that through Firefly without having to separately turning off data training in settings. This is a major win for creators concerned about privacy while using AI, and Adobe hopes it gives its professional creators some peace of mind when using AI products through Firefly. This is also markedly different from Canva's AI product terms, which say that your data can be shared with third-party companies like OpenAI, which "may not provide the same level of protection." You can check out Adobe's full privacy policy and generative AI guidelines for more info. Rounding out the Firefly news is a new project called Firefly Boards. It's a kind of infinite digital canvas workspace. You can use it to create moodboards, storyboards or generally any kind of creative planning. One of the unique features in Boards is called Remix, which lets you select different images to combine. Firefly will analyze the photos, automatically write a prompt, and generate image variations that combine the elements and styles of the original images. And if you're a true Firefly fan, there's one last piece of news: Adobe confirmed it is working on a true mobile app for Firefly. There's no set release date yet, but it promises to include new optimizations and features different from the current web app.

Adobe Firefly gets a slew of new image-generating models - including from OpenAI and Google

New models include the Firefly Image Model 4, GPT-4o image model, and Imagen 3. There are so many image generators on the market, each with its advantages. Picking which model to use for each task can be daunting, so Adobe wants to simplify that process. Also: Adobe Photoshop is getting its first AI agent - here's what it can do for you On Thursday, at Adobe Max London, Firefly, Adobe's app for AI-assisted content creation, added several new models, including competitor image-generating models from Google and OpenAI, and the latest generation of its Firefly models for both image and video generation. Adobe describes the Firefly Image Model 4 as the fastest, most controllable, and most realistic image model yet. The outputs can be created in up to 2K resolution, and when combined with the added control over camera angles, zoom, and speed, can create high-quality, professional-grade images. Image Model 4 Ultra excels at generating images that require lots of detail and realism, such as complex scenes with small structures, according to Adobe. Adobe also made its Firefly Video Model generally available, moving from public beta. The Firefly Video Model allows users to generate high-quality clips from text prompts or images with customization tools, such as camera angles and cinematic movement. Designers may also be excited to hear that the new Firefly Vector Model, which powers Text-to-Vector, is generally available. Both the video and new video models are commercially safe, only generating IP-friendly content, which is Adobe's biggest competitive advantage over competitors such as OpenAI. Adobe shares that the family of Firefly models has generated more than 22 billion assets globally, including images and videos. To give users the choice and flexibility of accessing whichever model is best for them, the Firefly app will now include the availability of image models from OpenAI GPT image generation, Google Imagen 3, Google Veo 2, and Flux 1.1 Pro. Adobe plans to add models from more partners in the upcoming months, including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika, and Runway. Also: Why you should ignore 99% of AI tools - and which four I use every day The recently released OpenAI GPT-4o image model excels at creating high-quality, realistic images. Its biggest competitive advantage is its ability to generate text within images accurately, a challenge that most models, including Adobe Firefly, can't do well. Being able to use these capabilities is a good example of when being able to switch between models may come in handy. Adobe delineates which model from which company is being used when, which is especially important as some people depend on the commercially safe protection that the Adobe models provide. Enterprise customers will be able to decide whether to enable or disable the option to use partner models within their organizations. Additionally, Adobe's Content Credentials, which function as a "nutrition label" for digital content, showing the images' vital ingredients, including the creator's name and the tools used to create the content, will be automatically added to images created using any model on the platform. Firefly Boards is an entirely new AI-first platform that allows users to ideate by creating mood boards or storyboards. The feature enables colleagues to collaborate on the same board to brainstorm on a project before execution. The interface resembles the design platform Figma, with the bonus of having Firefly capabilities embedded, allowing users to bring visions to life with simple prompts. All the new models, including Image Model 4, Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and Firefly Video Model, are generally available through Firefly on the web. Meanwhile, Firefly Boards is available on the Firefly app in public beta. Also: Why Adobe Firefly might be the only AI image tool that actually matters Users can access Firefly on the web today, with a mobile app for iOS and Android coming soon. If you want to be among the first users to have the Firefly app, you can pre-order it today.

Adobe adds more image generators to its growing AI family

Jess Weatherbed is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews. Adobe has launched two new versions of its text-to-image generative AI model alongside a host of new Firefly features and Creative Cloud app updates coming to Photoshop and Illustrator. The fourth-generation Firefly Image models follow a similar precedent that OpenAI and Google have set for their chatbot releases, providing users with a choice between one model that's suited for speed and efficiency, and another for more demanding tasks. Adobe says that Firefly Image Model 4 is its "fastest, most controllable, and most realistic Firefly image model yet," allowing users to generate images in up to 2K resolution with more control over style, format sizes, and camera angles. The updates from its predecessor are designed to improve the quality of image outputs while allowing them to be generated "quickly and efficiently." For image prompts that require more "detail and realism," Adobe is also launching Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, which is more capable of rendering "complex scenes with small structures." The new Firefly image models are generally available now via the Firefly web app alongside Adobe's text-to-video and text-to-vector models, which previously launched in public beta. A brand new Firefly web platform tool that's also launching in public beta today is Firefly Boards -- a FigJam-like collaborative generative AI moodboarding app that was introduced during Adobe's Max event in October as "Project Concept." Adobe also says that a Firefly mobile app is "coming soon" for iOS and Android devices. The Firefly web app now also gives users access to third-party AI models when generating images or video. Users can select between OpenAI's new GPT image model or Google's Imagen 3 for images, or Google's Veo 2 model for video alongside Adobe's own AI models, with support for Luma, Pika, Runway, fal.ai, and Ideogram "coming soon," according to Adobe. The company describes these third-party offerings as being available for "experimentation" rather than publishable work, however, and clearly marks its own models as being "commercially safe." That's not terribly surprising given Adobe trains its AI models on public or licenced content, while OpenAI, Google, and Runway can't claim the same. Adobe is also rolling out a smattering of updates for its popular Creative Cloud apps. Illustrator's generative shape fill and text to pattern tools are now generally available after being introduced in beta last year, while Photoshop is making it easier for users to make color adjustments, and automatically select details like hair, clothing, and specific facial features. The Actions panel in Photoshop is also being updated to make improved editing suggestions "based on a creator's unique style," and will form the foundation of the creative AI agent that Adobe is planning to build into the photo editing platform.

Adobe Firefly now generates AI images with OpenAI, Google, and Flux models - how to access them

New models include the Firefly Image Model 4, GPT-4o image model, and Imagen 3. There are so many image generators on the market, each with its advantages. Picking which model to use for each task can be daunting, so Adobe wants to simplify that process. Also: Adobe Photoshop is getting its first AI agent - here's what it can do for you On Thursday, at Adobe Max London, Firefly, Adobe's app for AI-assisted content creation, added several new models, including competitor image-generating models from Google and OpenAI, and the latest generation of its Firefly models for both image and video generation. Adobe describes the Firefly Image Model 4 as the fastest, most controllable, and most realistic image model yet. The outputs can be created in up to 2K resolution, and when combined with the added control over camera angles, zoom, and speed, can create high-quality, professional-grade images. Image Model 4 Ultra excels at generating images that require lots of detail and realism, such as complex scenes with small structures, according to Adobe. Adobe also made its Firefly Video Model generally available, moving from public beta. The Firefly Video Model allows users to generate high-quality clips from text prompts or images with customization tools, such as camera angles and cinematic movement. Designers may also be excited to hear that the new Firefly Vector Model, which powers Text-to-Vector, is generally available. Both the video and new video models are commercially safe, only generating IP-friendly content, which is Adobe's biggest competitive advantage over competitors such as OpenAI. Adobe shares that the family of Firefly models has generated more than 22 billion assets globally, including images and videos. To give users the choice and flexibility of accessing whichever model is best for them, the Firefly app will now include the availability of image models from OpenAI GPT image generation, Google Imagen 3, Google Veo 2, and Flux 1.1 Pro. Adobe plans to add models from more partners in the upcoming months, including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika, and Runway. Also: Why you should ignore 99% of AI tools - and which four I use every day The recently released OpenAI GPT-4o image model excels at creating high-quality, realistic images. Its biggest competitive advantage is its ability to generate text within images accurately, a challenge that most models, including Adobe Firefly, can't do well. Being able to use these capabilities is a good example of when being able to switch between models may come in handy. Adobe delineates which model from which company is being used when, which is especially important as some people depend on the commercially safe protection that the Adobe models provide. Enterprise customers will be able to decide whether to enable or disable the option to use partner models within their organizations. Additionally, Adobe's Content Credentials, which function as a "nutrition label" for digital content, showing the images' vital ingredients, including the creator's name and the tools used to create the content, will be automatically added to images created using any model on the platform. Firefly Boards is an entirely new AI-first platform that allows users to ideate by creating mood boards or storyboards. The feature enables colleagues to collaborate on the same board to brainstorm on a project before execution. The interface resembles the design platform Figma, with the bonus of having Firefly capabilities embedded, allowing users to bring visions to life with simple prompts. All the new models, including Image Model 4, Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and Firefly Video Model, are generally available through Firefly on the web. Meanwhile, Firefly Boards is available on the Firefly app in public beta. Also: Why Adobe Firefly might be the only AI image tool that actually matters Users can access Firefly on the web today, with a mobile app for iOS and Android coming soon. If you want to be among the first users to have the Firefly app, you can pre-order it today.

Adobe adds AI models from OpenAI, Google to its Firefly app

SAN FRANCISCO, April 24 (Reuters) - Adobe (ADBE.O), opens new tab said on Thursday it is adding image-generation artificial intelligence models from OpenAI and Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab to its Firefly app and bringing the app to mobile devices. Adobe is the owner of multiple software programs such as Photoshop and Premiere that are widely used by creative professionals in the visual arts. Since 2023, the San Jose, California-based company has been developing its own AI models in its Firefly service to generate images and video clips, promising its customers, opens new tab that they won't face legal liability for using the images and video created by those models. But last year, Adobe said it was open to also offering third-party models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI and others to its user base. On Thursday, Adobe said that Firefly users will be able to generate images with OpenAI's GPT image generation, Google Imagen 3, Google Veo 2 and Flux 1.1 Pro, in addition to a new version of its own proprietary Firefly image model. The company plans to offer models from partners including fal.ai, Luma and Runway in the coming months. "We still have lots and lots of customers for whom taking stuff to production, they will only use Firefly because the commercial safety really matters to them," Ely Greenfield, Adobe's chief technology officer for digital media, told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "But for other parts of the workflow, like ideation, they're interested in experimenting with other models as well. So we're making that choice available to them." Adobe's users will be able to generate content with third-party models in Firefly and pull it over into the company's other apps such as Photoshop with a few taps or clicks. They will be able to pay for third-party models with the same system of credits that they use to pay for Adobe's AI models, though Adobe declined to disclose how the revenue will be split between itself and third-party model providers. Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Jacqueline Wong Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

Adobe to launch mobile app for AI image generation tool as OpenAI steps up rivalry

LONDON -- Adobe plans to launch a mobile version of its artificial intelligence image generation tool Firefly, stepping up a challenge to OpenAI as the Microsoft-backed startup advances its efforts on visual applications for the technology. The design software giant said Thursday at its MAX creativity conference in London that it will release Firefly on both iOS and Android "soon," without giving a specific date. "Creative people think on the go," Alexandru Costin, vice president of Adobe Firefly, told CNBC in an interview. "One of the visions we have is for the Firefly mobile application to become a creative partner that sits with you all the time." Costin said that one way creatives could use its upcoming mobile app was to ask it to sketch up some ideas about an ad campaign while commuting to the office, so that by the time they arrive at work they've got a mood board to help them develop their thinking. Adobe also announced the launch of its latest AI models, Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and said its new Firefly Video Model for video generation is now generally available. The company said the new systems are capable of generating hyper-realistic pictures and videos in response to textual prompts in a "commercially safe" way, blocking the inclusion of any intellectual property.

Adobe Firefly now supports partner AI models, moodboards, and enterprise APIs

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. As with most applications being enhanced with GenAI, the creative world of AI-powered image and video creation continues to evolve at a tremendously rapid pace. It's no surprise then to see Adobe unveil a new version of its Firefly image generation models at the recent Adobe MAX event in London. Nor was it much of a shock to hear that the company had built a new Firefly web-based app (with iOS and Android mobile versions coming soon) around the technology. What did catch some people by surprise, however, was the company's move to integrate the image creation tools from several other GenAI model makers - including Google and OpenAI - into the new Firefly app. As Adobe explained, they heard loud and clear from their customers that, while they very much appreciate all the work Adobe has put into the Firefly models' ability to generate images and videos with no copyright-related concerns, there are several situations in which they want more options. For example, if a design firm is working with a client, the designers would likely want to use the copyrighted images, logos, etc., from that company in order to create new materials. Because of the way Adobe's Firefly models are trained and built - specifically without copyrighted material - that wouldn't be possible to do with Firefly. Leveraging image creation models from other vendors, however, could potentially allow those image variations with copyrighted material to be created. What Adobe didn't mention, though, is that creative people like to work with as many variations as they can. Bottom line is, they want more options. Because each image generation model works a bit differently, the outputs they generate have their own unique characteristics. It only makes sense then that designers were likely using other models anyway to get access to those different "looks." But by making the other models an option within the Firefly app, Adobe retains a bit more control over the creative process. This is especially true now, because new hooks in the Firefly app allow designers to take whatever is created from there - regardless of the model used to create it - and seamlessly pass it over to other Adobe creative apps, such as Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator, and others. Frankly, it's a pretty clever way to turn what initially seemed like competitors into something akin to partners. A related but important development that Adobe unveiled is a new capability it's calling Firefly Boards-previously announced as Project Concept-that allows designers to put together and share a limitless-sized canvas of images-generated from any model or even copied from any location-in order to stimulate ideas. These "moodboards" in the Firefly app can then be used to iterate even more ideas with AI, based on the images that are placed upon them. It's an interesting way for Adobe to dip its toes into the pool of image creation with what could be copyrighted materials. However, Adobe also made it clear that any images created within the Firefly app will carry Content Credentials. These credentials allow companies to ensure whether the images they create were built with the copyright-free (and thus, safe for public use) Firefly models or with partner (or other non-AI source) models. Again, it's a great way to let companies experiment, but still provide them with the assurance of the commercial safety that Adobe has built its entire Firefly strategy and technology around. In addition to these integrations with other image and video creation models, Adobe also announced several major enhancements to its own models. Firefly Image Model 4 is specifically focused on creating even more photorealistic output than its predecessors and offers more options for control than ever before. Still images, for example, can now be created with a wider degree of camera angles, zoom levels, and much more. In order to encourage more experimentation, the company also offered a new option to create images in a lower resolution 540p format, which can be created much more quickly. Once designers find something they like, they can then crank out a full HD 1080p version for final use. The new Image Model 4 Ultra is a for-pay option with even higher resolution that's ideally optimized for what Adobe describes as "complex scenes with small structures." Both the Firefly Video Model and Adobe's Vector Model are now generally available, with important refinements in the areas of control options and resolution for each. As with other Firefly models, all the outputs these create can come from a simple text prompt and are commercially safe. One of the more interesting, and yet completely untouted, capabilities of the output that Firefly generates across all its models is a text description of what it has created. As simple as that may sound, it's actually very illuminating because it shows how the model sees the output. To put it another way, it gives you a way to reverse engineer the text prompt that created the image (or video). Given how incredibly important the exact wording of a text prompt can be in an image creation tool, this is a great way to better understand how Firefly "thinks." It's also an extremely useful training tool to figure out how to write better prompts as you enter them into Firefly, because prompt training is a skill that I'd argue most everyone is still working on improving. In addition to its direct image and video creation tools, Adobe also unveiled several APIs that are designed to let enterprise application developers tap into the capabilities of their Firefly models. As you would expect, the Text-to-Image and Text-to-Video APIs do what they say to let companies create applications that can quickly build libraries of creative content. The Avatar API is specifically designed to let companies build explainer-style videos with a digital avatar providing the narration. All told, it was a solid set of announcements that extend the reach of Adobe's Firefly tools into some interesting new areas. The company continues to clearly base its core value and differentiation in the area of AI-powered image generation on its ability to create commercially safe content that's verified to be free of any copyright infringement. For large organizations, this is a valuable capability. At the same time, Adobe also recognized that the creative users in these organizations-Adobe's core customers-need more flexibility in terms of how they work with AI-generated material. These latest announcements seemingly make progress towards addressing these needs, and they open up some interesting new potential options for the future. Bob O'Donnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a technology consulting firm that provides strategic consulting and market research services to the technology industry and professional financial community. You can follow him on X @bobodtech

Adobe's Firefly AI art tools now mash up images into something new

New Adobe Firefly Boards complement the general release of Firefly Video and Premiere Pro's Generative Extend feature. Adobe's Firefly generative AI service is evolving into becoming more of a front-end service for generative AI in general, as Adobe has made its text-to-video capabilities generally available as well as the option to use even non-Adobe AI models. Adobe announced its new additions as part of its Adobe Max conference in London, also using Firefly as inspiration for some changes to its Creative Cloud applications as well. The world first saw Adobe Firefly in 2023, when the service debuted in beta as an image and font generator. Firefly went live that September based upon a credit plan, allocated by how much you already paid Adobe for apps like Photoshop or a full-fledged Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe then turned to text-to-video earlier this year, with the available payment plans offering just a few brief snippets of video in exchange for a monthly fee. It's this video service which has now launched via Firefly for the web, Adobe said. Adobe has stepped lightly through the ideological minefield that is AI art; some creators who use Adobe's tools have spoken out quite loudly against the use of machine-generated art, but Adobe's images come with a disclaimer that they were in fact produced by AI. Today, Adobe is launching a beta of a Content Authenticity app that allows creators to verify their identity, and to attach whatever information they would like to their profile and social media accounts. More importantly, they can include a tag that indicates that they don't want generative AI to train on their work. Adobe said that Firefly now offers two new models, a hyper-realistic Firefly Image Model 4, and a detailed Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. But users can also select non-Adobe models like GPT image generation and Google's Imagen 3, and Veo 2 video models. Runway, Pika, Luma, Ideogram, and Fal.ai are coming soon, Adobe added. Adobe is also adding "boards" to Firefly, where users can drop in a number of visual ideas and use them as a source for their next creation. In a demonstration, an Adobe executive showed how two images on a board could be "mashed up" -- Firefly sampled two images, then used AI to combine them. In Photoshop, Adobe is adding Composition Reference, a tool we've seen elsewhere; the tool uses how the objects in one scene are arranged as a reference guide for a second scene. Photoshop is also adding tools to Select Details like hair or facial features, and a new color adjustment tool, as well. Lightroom is adding a new Select Landscape tool, too. The Generative Extend features in Premiere Pro are also being rolled out, too. Generative Extend is like a Photoshop's generative features that allow the user to "extend" the scene; in video, Premiere will add additional small AI-generated clips to prolong a shot. Caption Translation will provide captions in up to 27 languages, while a Media Intelligence tool provides better search capabilities in existing footage.

Adobe Shockingly Welcomes Third-Party AI Models to the Creative Cloud

Adobe is bringing non-Adobe artificial intelligence (AI) models into its Creative Cloud ecosystem, abandoning its Firefly-only approach in favor of response to community and customer feedback. At Adobe MAX London, Adobe announced that, alongside its Firefly models, users will be able to choose from a "diverse range" of specialized, non-Adobe AI models. The first third-party solutions are coming to the standalone Adobe Firefly app before becoming available directly in the rest of the Creative Cloud ecosystem, including apps like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Google's Imagen3 and Veo2, OpenAI's GPT image generation, and Black Forest Labs' Flux 1.1 Pro are arriving to Firefly first, with other AI models to follow. Adobe says it is working with other AI companies like fal.ai, Runway, Pika, Luma, and Ideogram, and these expanded model options should arrive "in the coming months." "Every generative AI model has a distinct aesthetic and we want to give users more choice and flexibility, especially during the concept phase, to use the right model for their project needs," Adobe explains in a blog post. "Whether you need the impeccable quality and commercial safety of Adobe's models or the unique capabilities and aesthetic styles of the non-Adobe models, you can effortlessly compare outputs to find the ideal style for your creative needs." In what could be construed as an admission of defeat that customers want options other than Adobe Firefly for image and video generation, Adobe characterizes this surprising move as a consumer-friendly response to feedback. While Adobe Firefly can excel in certain areas, and maintains industry-leading commercial safety, many users find that competing models deliver better and more realistic results. Adobe is, of course, still working on making Firefly better, as evidenced by the debut of Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra at Adobe MAX London. If users want to use a non-Firefly AI model inside Adobe software, switching models will be as simple as a few clicks. Adobe software will "always be transparent about which model" someone is using, and Content Credentials will be attached to all AI-generated content within the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem. "No matter which model you choose, you can always see whether it was created with Firefly or a non-Adobe model with Content Credentials," the company promises. Adobe remains committed to responsible AI principles and says its "commitment ensures that every Firefly output is not only visually stunning but also IP-friendly and commercially safe for professional use..." The company will no longer be able to guarantee this promise once users swap models inside Firefly or other Adobe software, creating a somewhat murky situation within the Adobe AI ecosystem built extensively upon commercially safe content generation.

Adobe Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra Is its Most Realistic AI Image Generator

Fresh from its MAX London event, Adobe showcased its brand new Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. The new generative AI model promises more realistic results. Adobe Firefly is the all-in-one app for artificial intelligence (AI) assisted content ideation, creation, and production for generating images, video, audio, and vector projects. Adobe users may be most familiar with Firefly through its integration in Photoshop, providing generative AI features like Generative Fill and Generative Expand, which allow users to fill in selections, extend images, and more. Features powered by Firefly can currently be found in Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express, Substance 3D, InDesign, Lightroom, and Adobe Stock. "Originally launched as an image generation tool, Firefly has evolved into the ultimate creative AI solution, designed to be commercially safe from the ground up. Leading brands, including Deloitte, Tapestry, Paramount+, and Pepsi, have harnessed Firefly to streamline workflows and scale content production, resulting in faster time-to-market, better performing campaigns, and innovative, personalized experiences. Integration with professional tools like Photoshop web and Premiere Pro, along with persistent access to your history of generated content, allows you to efficiently transform concepts into finished assets across your favorite Creative Cloud applications," Adobe writes. With the new Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, Adobe says lifelike images with impeccable detail and complexity can be generated from text prompts and pictures. Engineered to create the most photo-realistic AI results yet, Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, tackles complex prompts such as human portraits and even groups for natural results with precision and clarity. The complete Image Model 4 collection also gives creative professionals more flexibility with customization to suit their needs, whether rapid ideation or more complex renders to final projects. Via advanced text-to-image controls, creators can apply filters, select specific styles, and match compositions for creative control and a homogeneous aesthetic. Users interested in a lightweight, more pared-down version of the latest Firefly can access Image Model 4, a standard version that is more nimble and ideal for rapid ideation and everyday creative needs. Image Model 4 can generate high-quality images more quickly and efficiently, as well as simple illustrations, icons, and basic photo objects. Firefly Image Model 4 and Image Model 4 Ultra offer significant improvements over Image Model 3, most notably enhanced prompt fidelity and exceptional precision, clarity, and realism for rendering imagery of people, animals, and architectural elements. "With Firefly, we set out to transform creators' experience by bringing image, video, audio and vector generation together in a one-stop-shop for AI-assisted creativity," says David Wadhwani, president of digital media. "The new Firefly models and the integration of partner models give our users the ultimate choice as they bring their visions to life." In another interesting step, Adobe will start allowing creative professionals to use third-party models built by partners starting with OpenAI's image generation capabilities, Google's Imagen 3 and Veo 2 and Flux 1.1 Pro. Adobe also "plans to integrate additional models from partners including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway in the coming months." Creators will be able to switch between models during generation, with full transparency as to which is being used during each step. Additionally, content credentials will be automatically attached to all AI-generated content with notes on whether generation was done with an Adobe Firefly model or one of the alternative partner models. "We're pleased to work with Adobe to bring OpenAI's image generation capabilities to its creators," said Kevin Weil, chief product officer at OpenAI. "Now, even more people will be able to create consistent, context-aware images using the Adobe creative suite they already know and use, opening up more ways to share ideas visually." Firefly Image Model 4, Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and the new Firefly Video Model are all available now through Firefly on the web. There are multiple plans starting at a free level with limited generative credits for both standard and premium features up to Firefly Premium with 50,000 generative credits to create video and audio content at scale for $199.99 per month.

Adobe unveils new Firefly generative AI models and creative tools - SiliconANGLE

Adobe unveils new Firefly generative AI models and creative tools Adobe Inc. is improving its suite of artificial intelligence-powered creative tools with new Firefly generative AI models alongside a newly announced Firefly app. Today at the company's Max London creativity conference, the company unveiled a new Firefly all-in-one web app for AI-assisted content creation and production that allows creators to generate images, video, audio and vectors. It uses Firefly, a family of commercially safe generative AI models developed by Adobe. To power the app, Adobe released two new generative AI models: Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. The company described Model 4 as the fastest, most controllable and most realistic yet, offering lifelike quality at 2K resolution with more creative control, camera angles, zooms and speeds than previous versions. The Ultra version allows for rendering complex scenes needing small structures that require precise detail. The company also announced that the Firefly Video Model is now generally available. First released in public beta in February, the model allows the creation of 1080p video clips from text prompts or images, modify videos with camera shot compositions, create professional-quality B-roll, craft imaginative elements from descriptions and custom motion design. The company's new Text-to-Vector graphics capability is also now generally available powered by the Adobe Vector Model. This allows creative designers to create fully editable vector-based artwork, logos, product packaging designs, icons, patterns and more with text prompts written in everyday language. In addition to the new Adobe AI models, the company began rolling out third-party generative AI models built by partners that users can select to generate their images and videos. Beginning with OpenAI's GPT-4o image generation capabilities, Google LLC's Imagen 3 and Veo 2, and Black Forest Labs Inc. Flux 1.1 Pro. The company said it intends to integrate further models from partners including Fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway in the coming months. To promote proper attribution for creators, Adobe announced the public beta of Content Authenticity, a free application that enables creators to easily apply Content Credentials to their digital works. "By adopting Content Credentials today, creators are helping build a more transparent, accountable, and creator-friendly digital ecosystem," the company said in the announcement. Content Credentials are a durable, secure type of metadata attached to images and video that remains even if a screenshot is taken. It keeps attribution information, links social media accounts, attaches information about creators and signals preferences around generative AI training and usage. "One thing we've heard consistently in our conversations with creators is that they struggle to secure proper attribution for their work online," the company said. "The concerns highlight a critical gap: Creators need a reliable way to verify their identities and receive credit for what they produce." Content Credentials are automatically attached to all AI-generated content to transparently indicate it was produced with an Adobe Firefly model or partner model.

Adobe's Firefly AI now generates 2K images and 1080p video

Adobe has launched the latest iteration of its Firefly family of image generation AI models, along with a redesigned web app that houses its AI models and some from competitors. The new Firefly Image Model 4 improves on its predecessors in terms of quality, speed, and control over outputs. The Firefly Image Model 4 can generate images in resolutions up to 2K and offers enhanced control over structure, style, camera angles, and zoom. A more capable version, Image Model 4 Ultra, can render complex scenes with detailed small structures. According to Alexandru Costin, VP of Generative AI at Adobe, the models were trained with a higher order of compute magnitude to generate more detailed images. Video: Adobe The new models also improve text generation in images and allow users to use reference images to generate pictures in a specific style. Adobe is making its Firefly video model, launched in limited beta last year, generally available. This model enables users to generate video clips from text prompts or images, control camera angles, and customize motion design elements, producing video clips at resolutions up to 1080p. The Firefly Vector Model can create editable vector-based artwork, including logos, product packaging, icons, scenes, and patterns. The Firefly web app provides access to these models, as well as image and video generation models from OpenAI, Google, and Flux. Users can switch between models and have content credentials attached to generated images. Adobe is also testing Firefly Boards, a canvas for ideation and moodboarding that allows users to generate, remix, and collaborate on images. Additionally, the company is making its Text-to-Image API and Avatar API generally available, with a new Text-to-Video API available in beta. These APIs are part of Adobe's Firefly Services collection. Adobe is integrating the new models into its product portfolio, although a timeline has not been provided. The company is also testing Adobe Content Authenticity, a web app that lets users attach credentials to their work to indicate ownership and attribution.

Adobe Brings New Firefly Models, Expands Support for Third-Party Models

Adobe announced a slew of new features and improvements at its annual Adobe Max conference on Thursday. The software giant announced new Firefly artificial intelligence (AI) models, support for third-party models, new Adobe Express features, and a new Firefly mobile app. The company also unveiled its Adobe Boards tool for storyboard creation, and a Vector model to let designers create editable vector-based artworks. The company also announced that its Adobe Firefly Video model, which was teased last year, is now generally available to subscribers. In a blog post, the software giant detailed the two new text-to-image AI models. Dubbed Image Model 4 and Image Model 4 Ultra, these are the successors to the company's Image Model 3 series, introduced last year. With the Model 4 series, Adobe claims that users will see significant improvement in accuracy, prompt fidelity, and realism in generated images. The Firefly Image Model 4 is geared towards faster image generation, and the company says it is best suited for creating simple illustrations, icons, and basic photo objects. On the other hand, the Image Model 4 Ultra is the flagship-grade AI model, and the company claims that it can generate photorealistic scenes, human portraits, and complex imagery. Both models come with features such as filters, style options, and match compositions. These are now available with Firefly subscriptions. Separately, Adobe also introduced several other Firefly-based tools. The new Adobe Vector Model can generate editable vector-based artwork, logo variations, product packaging, icons, scenes, patterns, and more using natural language text prompts. It can be accessed within the Firefly app. A new Firefly Boards tool is also available in the Firefly app in public beta. The interface lets users work on storyboards, mood boards, or explore concepts. Initially unveiled as Project Concept, the tool offers a text-to-image generator, various AI-powered creation and editing tools, as well as an inline AI editor feature. Adobe says the platform is suitable for iterating on different variations of ideas and refining them. Further, the Adobe Firefly Video model is finally generally available to all users. The video generation tool was first unveiled in September 2023. Apart from in-house innovation, Adobe is also expanding the Firefly app with third-party AI models. Currently, users can access OpenAI's image generation capabilities and Google's Image 3 and Veo 2, as well as the Flux 1.1 Pro, which used to power Grok's image generation feature, before the release of xAI's native Aurora model. "Adobe also plans to integrate additional models from partners including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway in the coming months," the company said. Notably, Firefly has several paid subscription plans for individuals, students, and teams. The starting plan for individuals, Firefly Standard, is priced at $9.99 (roughly Rs. 852) per month. The company also introduced several new features in Adobe Express, its content creation platform. Most of the new features are aimed at video editing. Adobe says these features will eliminate the tedious parts of creating video content. A new Clip Maker feature will let users turn longer video footage into shareable clips using AI. The AI feature will also let users optimise the content by identifying key moments, adding captions, and reframing clips. The company is also adding a Firefly Video Model-powered video generation tool that accepts both text and images as input to generate custom b-roll and background footage. Another Enhance Speech tool removes background noise, while Video Self-Record allows users to record themselves within Adobe Express. Additionally, the Drop Zone tool can compile clips into sequences while Scene View rearranges clips, so users can batch-edit videos in a single flow. Adobe Express is also being integrated with Vimeo to let users directly export and publish their content on the platform. Apart from video editing, the content creation platform is adding a Dynamic Animation tool that adds natural motion effects to objects to turn still images into animated photos. For enterprise users, the Generate Similar feature can create a collection of visual assets by taking reference from a single on-brand image. Adobe is also adding more than 30 new filters to try out inside the Adobe Express app.

Adobe adds AI models from OpenAI, Google to its Firefly app

Adobe is integrating AI image-generation models from OpenAI and Google into its Firefly app, extending its availability to mobile devices. This move allows users to experiment with diverse AI models, including Google Imagen 3 and OpenAI's ChatGPT, alongside Adobe's own Firefly. While Firefly ensures commercial safety, these integrations cater to users seeking broader creative options.Adobe said on Thursday it is adding image-generation artificial intelligence models from OpenAI and Alphabet's Google to its Firefly app and bringing the app to mobile devices. Adobe is the owner of multiple software programs such as Photoshop and Premiere that are widely used by creative professionals in the visual arts. Since 2023, the San Jose, California-based company has been developing its own AI models in its Firefly service to generate images and video clips, promising its customers that they won't face legal liability for using the images and video created by those models. But last year, Adobe said it was open to also offering third-party models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI and others to its user base. On Thursday, Adobe said that Firefly users will be able to generate images with OpenAI's GPT image generation, Google Imagen 3, Google Veo 2 and Flux 1.1 Pro, in addition to a new version of its own proprietary Firefly image model. The company plans to offer models from partners including fal.ai, Luma and Runway in the coming months. "We still have lots and lots of customers for whom taking stuff to production, they will only use Firefly because the commercial safety really matters to them," Ely Greenfield, Adobe's chief technology officer for digital media, told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "But for other parts of the workflow, like ideation, they're interested in experimenting with other models as well. So we're making that choice available to them." Adobe's users will be able to generate content with third-party models in Firefly and pull it over into the company's other apps such as Photoshop with a few taps or clicks. They will be able to pay for third-party models with the same system of credits that they use to pay for Adobe's AI models, though Adobe declined to disclose how the revenue will be split between itself and third-party model providers.

Adobe Broadens Firefly's Creative AI Reach

The company continues to base its core value and differentiation in the area of AI-powered image generation on its ability to create commercially safe content that's verified to be free of any copyright infringement. For large organizations, this is an incredibly valuable capability. As with most applications being enhanced with Generative AI (GenAI) technologies, the creative world of AI-powered image and video creation continues to evolve at a tremendously rapid pace. So, it wasn't a surprise to see Adobe unveil a new version of its Firefly Bob O'Donnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a technology consulting and market research firm that provides strategic consulting and market research services to the technology industry and professional financial community. You can follow him on Twitter @bobodtech.

Adobe unveils Firefly mobile app and Image Model 4 with advanced creative tools

At Adobe MAX London, Adobe introduced an updated version of its Firefly platform, which combines AI-driven tools for image, video, audio, and vector generation into a unified platform. The new release brings advanced models, improved creative features, and expanded options for creators. Originally designed as an image generation tool, Firefly has now expanded to offer a full suite of AI-powered creative solutions. This update builds upon previous releases, such as the launch of the Firefly web app and the inclusion of features for video and audio, including Generate Video, Translate Video, and Translate Audio. Adobe highlighted that the update continues to focus on providing a commercially safe platform for creative professionals. Additionally, Adobe announced the upcoming release of the Firefly mobile app for iOS and Android devices. The app enables users to generate high-quality images and videos on the go, with professional-grade tools that make content creation possible anytime and anywhere. It also offers seamless integration with Creative Cloud, allowing users to continue their work across devices, from mobile to desktop. The update includes significant improvements in visual content generation, with the introduction of Firefly Image Model 4, which offers better definition and realism, making it ideal for producing high-resolution images. Adobe also introduced Image Model 4 Ultra, an advanced version tailored for photorealistic rendering of human portraits and intricate scenes. These models give creative professionals more control, supporting both fast ideation and the creation of detailed final assets. In addition, the Firefly Video Model has moved out of beta, offering improvements in realism, text rendering, and visual effects. It now allows users to produce dynamic videos with highly realistic landscapes. Firefly Premium members now have unlimited access to the Firefly Video Model across all Firefly applications. The latest update also introduces new creative tools to enhance productivity: Responding to user feedback, Adobe has integrated non-Adobe AI models into Firefly, including options like Google Imagen3 and OpenAI GPT. This gives users access to a wider range of AI tools tailored to their specific creative needs, while maintaining transparency and ensuring commercial safety. Content generated with these models will be labeled with Content Credentials, ensuring users are aware of which model was used. Adobe reaffirmed its commitment to responsible AI development, emphasizing that its generative AI models are designed to enhance human creativity rather than replace it. The company continues to prioritize the protection of creators' rights, ensuring that AI tools are used responsibly within the creative industries. The latest Firefly features are now available through Adobe's Creative Cloud suite, providing enhanced tools for generating high-quality content in images, video, and vector art.

Adobe has just announced Firefly Image Model 4 and 4 Ultra - what are they are why do you need them?

The latest models, just announced at Adobe Max London, are designed to provide better image quality and more control. Adobe Max London today saw the announcement of some major new updates to the creative software giant's AI image generator Firefly. Still at the top of our pick of the best AI image generators, Firefly has a new image model, and it's also now a video and vector generator. The latest Creative Cloud update includes new tools across the software suite, including in Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro, but Adobe's made today's headline news the release of not one but two new Firefly AI Models: Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. Yep, we're on Model 4 already, just two years after the initial public release of Firefly. Adobe says the new Firefly models offer more realistic output, with the ability to generate lifelike scenes. Images can also be generated at up to 2K resolution, which makes generations more viable for larger uses and for printing. But it's not just about image quality. The company emphasises that the new models provide more control over the structure and style of outputs and camera angles and zooms. Adobe says it's responding to creatives who want more options on where, when and how to use AI. And the difference between Model 4 and 4 Ultra? We're told that Image Model 4 is better for rapid ideation and everyday creative needs, generating images quickly and efficiently. Ultra is intended for projects that need more detail and realism, including complex scenes with small structures. I'm expecting it will cost more credits. The other big news is general availability of the Firefly Video model, which Adobe describes as the industry's first IP-friendly and production ready AI video generator. As we saw in the beta release in February, users can generate video clips and motion design elements from text or image prompts, control camera angles and specify start and end frames to control shots. It looks like the biggest advantage of Firefly's video model is the amount of control it provides - something that's been difficult in other models. Adobe's recognised that being able to direct the output is critical to producing usable footage. You can choose shot size (close up, medium, long etc), camera angle (aerial, eye-level, high, low, top-down) and camera motion (zoom in, tilt, handheld, etc) to provide more control over framing and the dynamism of a shot. Also now generally available is the Firefly Vector model for text-to-vector generation. This can generate editable vector-based artwork, logo variations, icons, patterns and more. Adobe's also introducing Firefly Boards (formerly Project Concept) in beta for moodboarding, storyboarding and brainstorming. Both Boards and the standard app now allow image generation using third-party AI models in Firefly. Initial options include Google Imagen 3 and OpenAI's GPT image generation. For the moment, Firefly remains a browser-based app, but Adobe's also planning to launch a mobile app. There are free and paid plans. Also see our Adobe software guide and head to Adobe's website to find out more. And to tie in with all the announcements, Adobe is running a 50% discount on Creative Cloud All Apps!

Adobe's made its most controversial AI move yet - it now supports third-party generators

(Image credit: Adobe / Google / OpenAI / Ideogram / Runway / Black Forest Labs / Future) When Adobe Firefly burst onto the scene in 2023, it did so with a big acclaim. Adobe billed it as the first 'commercially safe' AI image generator. The first ethical AI image generator, we could even say. The basis for this was that the model's training data was licensed (via Adobe Stock) or in public domain. Together with highly practical tools in existing apps like Photoshop and Premiere Pro, this made Firefly stand out from the likes of Midjourney, Dall-E and Stable Diffusion - as you can see from our best AI image generators roundup. Firefly couldn't initially compete in terms of realism, but it could do in terms of making itself useful and commercially usable. But now you don't need to choose. Google, OpenAI, Runway, Pika, Flux, Luma, Ideogram.... these are all now Adobe 'partners', and their generative AI models can be used in Firefly itself, as we've just heard at Adobe Max London. OpenAI's GPT image generation, Google Imagen 3 and Veo 2 are already available, appearing as drop-down options in the Firefly web app, while Flux is available in Firefly Boards (a new AI moodboarding tool). We're told that Fal, Ideogram, Pika and Runway will be coming soon. Adobe's Vice President for Product Marketing, Creative Professional, Deepa Subramaniam said in a press briefing that the software giant knows creative professionals like to experiment with different generative AI models for different projects at different stage of their creative process, especially the creative concepting or ideation phase. "They've told us they want access to them right where they do their work," she says. It's an approach already offered by various online AI platforms, which provide an interface as a wrapper for various AI models. Adobe emphasises the benefits in terms of choice and flexibility. By adding other models to Firefly, it means users can immediately compare the results generated by different models and choose the one they want to use. "Whether creators want the unmatched image quality and commercial safety of Adobe Firefly models or different styles and capabilities from Adobe partner models, they now have the choice and flexibility to effortlessly compare outputs and choose the model that best aligns with their creative vision in a specific project," Deepa says. Adobe has mentioned plans to go in this direction before, including plans to add third-party AI video generation to Premiere Pro. But the idea always seemed to grate with its bid to present Firefly as ethical. The issue reportedly created tensions at Adobe itself, and I can see why. Firefly is still commercially safe if you use its own models, but not if you use the others? And what message does it send to users who object to the training methods of other models? Adobe stresses that Content Credentials are automatically added to all AI-generated material to provide trust and transparency. These will clearly indicate which model was used to generate any image. The company has also announced the launch of a free Adobe Content Authenticity app in public beta. This will allow creatives to add details about themselves to their creative work by attaching Content Credentials and also to attach an AI Training and Usage Preference, signalling to AI image generators whether they're happy for their work to be used for training. Whether anyone pays attention to that will be interesting to see. And to tie in with all the announcements, Adobe is running a 50% discount on Creative Cloud All Apps! Find out more on Adobe CC's website.

Adobe Concept AI is now Firefly Boards, and you can apply to join the beta

Linked to that latter announcement is the launch of Firefly Boards, a new tool for moodboarding and ideation with its own panel in Adobe's browser-based generative AI app. Now in Beta, Firefly Boards is the new name for Project Concept. It provides an infinite-canvas for moodboarding, storyboarding and generally playing around with AI image generation, organisation and iteration. It's aimed at what Adobe sees as a new generation of creatives who want to embrace generative AI outside of the restrictions of the linear workflows of legacy software. Images can be imported or generated using AI, and can be edited, remixed, iterated on and organised in a flexible way, making it easier for artists to visualise and develop ideas, either on their own or in collaboration, all in one tool. Canvases can be shared, and work can be remixed, making it easier to collaborate. Aspects from different images can be combined by automatically combining prompts or descriptions. You don't need to write the prompts yourself, since they're generated automatically, but you can jump in to edit the prompts too. You can also apply a style, composition, or other specific aspects extracted from one image to another in order to make diverse assets to fit a particular visual direction. You can also search for images from Adobe Stock and remix them. And all assets can be organised into artboards for presentations or moodboards, or exported for use in other apps like Photoshop (also see today's Photoshop updates). The launch of Firefly Boards comes alongside the addition of third-party AI models in Firefly. This potentially controversial move extends to Boards, where Google Imagen 3 and Flux are available as alternative models for AI image generation in addition to Adobe's own Firefly Image Model 4 and Model 3. You simply choose the model you want to use the model you want to use from a dropdown box, which makes it easy to compare the outputs from different AI models and choose which one works best for any specific project. Adobe notes that the details of the model used are added to the Content Credentials attached to all image generations. These can be viewed by selecting any image on the Firefly Boards workspace. There's currently a waiting list to join Firefly Boards in beta. Pricing details have yet to be announced. Adobe currently offers generative credits for the standard Firefly tools as part of a Creative Cloud all-apps plans or various Firefly plans. To tie in with today's announcements, Adobe is running a 50% discount on Creative Cloud All Apps.

Adobe Revolutionizes AI-Assisted Creativity with Firefly, the All-In-One Home for AI Content Creation, with New Partner and Firefly Models

Firefly combines Adobe's commercially safe Firefly models and now the choice of models from partners including Google Cloud and OpenAI so creators can ideate, create and produce images, videos, audio, vectors and designs from a single home Adobe releases new Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra for impeccable realism and detail and makes Firefly Video Model generally available Firefly now includes the all-new Firefly Boards in public beta, equipping creators with a collaborative, AI-first surface for moodboarding and exploring creative concepts Today, at its MAX London creativity conference, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) showcased the new Firefly, the all-in-one app for AI-assisted content ideation, creation and production. Firefly empowers creators to generate images, video, audio and vectors from a single place with unmatched creative control, iterate on their creations across Adobe's creative apps and seamlessly deliver them into production. Adobe now delivers the most comprehensive creative AI platform in the industry, with its commercially safe family of Firefly models, the choice of partner models including Google Cloud and OpenAI and AI-powered tools deeply integrated into Creative Cloud apps. Firefly includes all of Adobe's commercially safe creative AI models, including the new Firefly Image Model 4 for lifelike images, the new Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra for impeccable detail and complexity and the Firefly Video Model which generates footage from text prompts and images with unmatched creative control -- all of which are generally available today. Firefly also provides creative professionals with the choice to explore in different aesthetic styles using models from partners, with Google Cloud and OpenAI models available today and models from partners including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway available in the coming months. The all-new Firefly Boards, now in public beta in Firefly, gives creators an AI-first surface for moodboarding, exploring creative concepts, iterating on hundreds of variations at once and collaborating on ideation. "With Firefly, we set out to transform creators' experience by bringing image, video, audio and vector generation together in a one-stop-shop for AI-assisted creativity," said David Wadhwani, president of digital media. "The new Firefly models and the integration of partner models give our users the ultimate choice as they bring their visions to life." By unifying image, video, audio and vector generation and providing unmatched creative control, Firefly empowers creative professionals to work more productively and with an unmatched degree of precision. Seamlessly integrated with Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Express and Adobe's other creative applications, it offers AI-powered assistance throughout every stage of the content creation process -- from ideation through production. Firefly's commercially safe models power capabilities ranging from Structure and Style Reference that empower professionals to guide Firefly's outputs based on reference images, the power to control the precise camera angles of generated images and videos, the ability to specify start and end frames of generated videos and the ability to translate audio and video into an array of languages. Creators can use Firefly on the web today, with the mobile app coming soon. Adobe Firefly Generative AI Models The Firefly app includes all of Adobe's commercially safe, production-ready Firefly models, including Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. The fastest, most controllable and most realistic Firefly image model yet, Firefly Image Model 4 offers lifelike image quality, more creative control over the structure and style of outputs, more control over camera angles and zooms and the speed to rapidly explore and iterate concepts. With the ability to generate outputs in up to 2k resolution, creative professionals can crop and recompose images with greater precision and print in larger formats without sacrificing quality. Firefly Image Model 4 empowers pros to rapidly ideate by generating high-quality images quickly and efficiently. Image Model 4 Ultra exceeds in rendering complex scenes with small structures for projects that demand impeccable detail and realism. The Firefly Video Model, now generally available, is the industry's first IP-friendly, production ready video model. It empowers creators to generate stunning 1080p video clips from text prompts or images, fine-tune any video with detailed camera settings using intuitive controls that provide new levels of precision, craft atmospheric elements, develop custom motion design elements and more. It's being used by brands including dentsu, PepsiCo/Gatorade and Stagwell who have voiced excitement around the video model because they can confidently use it for production-ready content creation. The Adobe Vector Model powers the new Text-to-Vector capability, now generally available, which empowers designers to create fully editable vector-based artwork, logo variations, product packaging, icons, scenes, patterns and more with simple text prompts written in everyday language. Adobe's family of Firefly models have been used by creators to generate more than 22 billion assets globally, including images and videos. Firefly's Ecosystem of Generative AI Models Now Includes Choice of Partner Models To give creative professionals the flexibility of using AI in the ways which work best for them, the Firefly app now includes the choice of experimenting with models built by partners with different aesthetic styles, starting with OpenAI's image generation capabilities, Google's Imagen 3 and Veo 2 and Flux 1.1 Pro. Adobe also plans to integrate additional models from partners including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway in the coming months. "We're pleased to work with Adobe to bring OpenAI's image generation capabilities to its creators," said Kevin Weil, chief product officer at OpenAI. "Now, even more people will be able to create consistent, context-aware images using the Adobe creative suite they already know and use, opening up more ways to share ideas visually." Creators can easily switch between models, with full transparency into which model is being used at every step. Content Credentials are automatically attached to AI-generated content, clearly indicating whether it was created with an Adobe Firefly model or a partner model. Enterprise customers will have the option to enable the use of partner models across their organization. Firefly Boards: An AI-First Surface for Moodboarding and Ideation The new Firefly Boards, available in public beta in the Firefly app, equips creators with an AI-first surface for moodboarding, storyboarding, brainstorming, exploring creative concepts, iterating on hundreds of variations at once and collaborating on ideation with the ability to move directly into production. Initially previewed as Project Concept, Firefly Boards makes it faster and easier for creative teams to align on ideas before jumping into production. Boards empower creators to bring their vision to life, refine ideas in one place and move seamlessly into the next phase of the creative process. Firefly Services: Streamlining Creative Production for Businesses Adobe Firefly Services -- a collection of generative AI and creative APIs -- brings Adobe's AI innovations directly into content production workflows so businesses can accelerate repetitive, time-intensive tasks such as resizing assets for different marketing channels. Leading brands and agencies including Accenture, dentsu, Gatorade/PepsiCo and The Estée Lauder Companies have been using Firefly Services to shorten the time to launch campaigns and engage new audiences with tailored experiences by activating generative AI to streamline content production workflows and boost creative output. Adobe is introducing new APIs in Firefly Services powered by its commercially safe Firefly models. Available in beta, the Photoshop API helps businesses accelerate image editing workflows at scale and the Text-to-Video API and Image-to-Video API transform text and still shots into live action clips. The latest Text-to-Image API, leveraging Firefly Image Model 4, and Avatar API to enable teams to create engaging video content for product explainers and more, are coming soon. The Industry's Most Creator-Friendly Approach to AI Adobe takes the most creator-friendly approach to AI in the industry. Adobe's view is that AI is a tool for, not a replacement of, human creativity. We believe that generative AI can be developed responsibly, starting with respect for creators' rights. Our approach to our commercially safe family of Adobe Firefly generative AI models is driven by our roots in the creative community and our respect for creators. For more information on our approach to generative AI, visit: https://www.adobe.com/ai/overview/firefly/gen-ai-approach.html Pricing and Availability Firefly Image Model 4, Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra and new Firefly Video Model are all now generally available through Firefly on the web. Firefly Boards is available in public beta in the Firefly app. Firefly plan offerings are detailed here. About Adobe Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

Adobe Delivers Creative Pros Unparalleled Speed, Precision and Flexibility with New Creative Cloud Innovations and Firefly App

100+ Creative Cloud innovations and productivity upgrades equip creative professionals to work faster, with more control and precision over the finest details Firefly-powered innovations in Photoshop, Illustrator, Express and Premiere Pro bring creative professionals powerful, streamlined workflows to generate and edit graphics, extend video footage and animate images Creative pros can explore and ideate with the new Firefly app - including the new Firefly Boards for AI-first moodboarding - with Adobe's commercially safe Firefly models and choice in partner models to explore concepts and create images, vectors, audio and video Today, at its MAX London creativity conference, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) unveiled over one hundred all-new innovations across its Creative Cloud apps which empower creative professionals to work faster, with greater precision and control. This release further advances the world's largest creative platform, with performance upgrades that work as much as 5x faster, and new innovations that span from creative exploration to execution. Creators can easily jumpstart their designs with Text to Pattern in Illustrator, instantly sift through terabytes of video footage with Media Intelligence in Premiere Pro, quickly edit with supercharged Remove Background in Photoshop and streamline font selection with more than 1,500 new popular fonts like Helvetica and Gotham. New Firefly-powered generative AI capabilities across Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Adobe Express, Illustrator and InDesign provide creators with superpowers for quickly generating images, videos, graphics and patterns, animating still images and turning long video footage into social-size clips. Adobe also announced the new Firefly app, which brings creative professionals an all-in-one home for AI- assisted content ideation, creation and production. Firefly incorporates Adobe's commercially safe creative AI models - including the new ultra-realistic Firefly Image Model 4 and new Firefly Video Model - and now gives creators the choice to explore in different aesthetic styles with models from partners including Google and OpenAI. New Firefly Boards, now in public beta in the Firefly app, offers an AI-first workspace for moodboarding, rapid concept exploration and collaborative ideation. Firefly's latest innovations empower creators to move from concept to delivery faster, with greater flexibility and precision. "Adobe is laser focused on empowering creative professionals with the best tools to do their best work, which means bringing them more speed, precision, control, flexibility and, of course, amazing creative superpowers," said Deepa Subramaniam, Vice President, Product Marketing, Creative Cloud at Adobe. "Today, we're bringing creative professionals major advancements in app performance, highly requested productivity features and all-new AI features powered by Firefly to give creators everything they need to bring their creativity to the world." Empowering Creative Professionals with New Tools and Productivity Upgrades in Creative Cloud Creative professionals around the globe - from photographers to designers, illustrators, video editors and beyond - trust Adobe's flagship Creative Cloud tools to tell their stories and do their best and most important work. Adobe is announcing powerful new AI innovations across Creative Cloud apps to empower creative pros with tools that deliver unprecedented speed, control and precision: Photoshop upgrades deliver a combination of greater speed, smarter suggestions and tools for working with precise details. They include Firefly-powered AI features like Composition Reference in Text to Image, which unlocks powerful creative controls for ideating by generating assets with the same structure and visual arrangement as a reference image; Select Details, which make it faster and more intuitive to select things like hair, facial features and clothing; Adjust Colors, which simplifies the process of adjusting color hue, saturation and lightness in images for seamless, instant color adjustments; and a reimagined Actions panel (beta), which delivers smarter workflow Express upgrades deliver advanced video, animation and on-brand tools that empower creators to do more with their designs, illustrations and These include Clip Maker to instantly convert long video footage into social- length clips; Dynamic Animation to animate still images with a single click; Enhance Speech to remove distracting background noise for polished, pro-quality sound; Generate Video using text and image prompts to generate custom, commercially safe b-roll or background footage; and Generate Similar to instantly generate a multitude of variations of a reference image. The new features help creative professionals work quickly across new mediums to extend the reach and impact of their content and make it easy for small business owners, teachers, marketers and others to elevate the quality and impact of their social, digital and in-real-life assets. Illustrator upgrades deliver new AI generation tools along with speedier performance. Firefly-powered Generative Shape Fill and Text to Pattern help designers jumpstart their design process and customize concepts in their own individual style. Menu access is now more responsive, so designers can start their projects more quickly and complete tasks faster than Across the board, Illustrator's most popular effects are now up to five times faster. InDesign upgrades deliver new Firefly-powered image generation along with productivity boosts like easily converting PDFs to InDesign Generative Fill (beta) transforms vector graphics into artwork from simple text prompts. Math Expressions empower creators to place complex mathematical notations directly in layouts. Lightroom upgrades deliver new tools for editing and sharing photos on both desktop and in the mobile All-new Select Landscape in Lightroom and Lightroom Classic helps photographers automatically detect and create masks for common landscape elements like water, plants, sky and more. Additionally, Lightroom Mobile and Web are introducing new sharing capabilities. Upgrades to Quick Actions make it simple to retouch group photos with precision and control. Premiere Pro upgrades deliver tools for generating, editing and searching footage at lightning speed. Firefly- powered Generative Extend is now generally available and production ready with support for 4K and vertical video; Media Intelligence helps editors find relevant clips by searching terabytes of footage in seconds; and Caption Translation instantly localizes captions in 27 languages. Adobe Fresco upgrades deliver a new "created without generative AI tag" which can be included in an image's Content Credentials to protect the author's rights and the capability to link exports directly to social media In addition, Adobe added more than 1500 of the most popular fonts to Creative Cloud applications through the Adobe Fonts library, including Arial, Gotham, Helvetica and Times New Roman. AI Agents in Creative Cloud Adobe believes AI agents will be powerful and productive tools for creative professionals similar to how generative AI assists them today. The company recently shared its vision for agentic AI and is working to bring creative professionals tools that can use natural language to access more than 1,000 one-click actions in Photoshop, help them learn new features and handle repetitive tasks with the creator in control and in the driver's seat. Photoshop's new reimagined Actions panel (beta) offers smart suggestions to creators that can inspire them to try out various creative directions and help them choose a series of multi-step edits to undertake. The Actions panel enables them to enact these edits with a single click. It is the foundation of what will become Photoshop's first creative AI agent. Adobe has also laid the foundation for agentic professional video workflows in Premiere Pro with Media Intelligence, which understands the content clips, automatically recognizing objects and the visual composition of shots in every frame. Adobe is also planning to bring agentic AI to Adobe Express, transforming it into a creative partner that helps users of all skill levels quickly and intuitively create standout visual content and bring ideas to life with ease. Supporting the Creative Community As it showcased its latest innovations, Adobe invited the creative community to participate in a new Creative Apprenticeship initiative, aimed at helping the next generation of creators establish themselves in their careers. Adobe has recruited hundreds of mentors and employers to the initiative, which provides participants with hands-on learning opportunities, mentorship and real-world experience. Adobe also announced new protections for creators to help ensure they receive credit for their work and to protect it from misuse and misrepresentation. The launch of the Adobe Content Authenticity app, now in public beta, offers a free tool to let creators choose which information is attached to their work via Content Credentials. It includes verified identity (powered by Verified on LinkedIn and social media accounts. Creators can include a tag in their Content Credentials to state they don't want generative AI models to train on their work. Adobe takes the most creator-friendly approach to AI in the industry. It views AI as a tool for, not a replacement of, human creativity and believes that generative AI can be developed responsibly, starting with respect for creators' rights. For information on our approach to generative AI, visit: https://www.adobe.com/ai/overview/firefly/gen-ai-approach.html About Adobe Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com. ### © 2025 Adobe. All rights reserved. Adobe and the Adobe logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Adobe Delivers Creative Pros Unparalleled Speed, Precision and Flexibility with New Creative Cloud Innovations and Firefly A By Investing.com

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, at its MAX London creativity conference, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) unveiled over one hundred all-new innovations across its Creative Cloud apps which empower creative professionals to work faster, with greater precision and control. This release further advances the world's largest creative platform, with performance upgrades that work as much as 5x faster, and new innovations that span from creative exploration to execution. Creators can easily jumpstart their designs with Text to Pattern in Illustrator, instantly sift through terabytes of video footage with Media Intelligence in Premiere Pro, quickly edit with supercharged Remove Background in Photoshop and streamline font selection with more than 1,500 new popular fonts like Helvetica and Gotham. New Firefly-powered generative AI capabilities across Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Adobe Express, Illustrator and InDesign provide creators with superpowers for quickly generating images, videos, graphics and patterns, animating still images and turning long video footage into social-size clips. Adobe also announced the new Firefly app, which brings creative professionals an all-in-one home for AI-assisted content ideation, creation and production. Firefly incorporates Adobe's commercially safe creative AI models " including the new ultra-realistic Firefly Image Model 4 and new Firefly Video Model " and now gives creators the choice to explore in different aesthetic styles with models from partners including Google and OpenAI. New Firefly Boards, now in public beta in the Firefly app, offers an AI-first workspace for moodboarding, rapid concept exploration and collaborative ideation. Firefly's latest innovations empower creators to move from concept to delivery faster, with greater flexibility and precision. Adobe is laser focused on empowering creative professionals with the best tools to do their best work, which means bringing them more speed, precision, control, flexibility and, of course, amazing creative superpowers, said Deepa Subramaniam, Vice President, Product Marketing, Creative Cloud at Adobe. Today, we're bringing creative professionals major advancements in app performance, highly requested productivity features and all-new AI features powered by Firefly to give creators everything they need to bring their creativity to the world. Empowering Creative Professionals with New Tools and Productivity Upgrades in Creative Cloud Creative professionals around the globe " from photographers to designers, illustrators, video editors and beyond " trust Adobe's flagship Creative Cloud tools to tell their stories and do their best and most important work. Adobe is announcing powerful new AI innovations across Creative Cloud apps to empower creative pros with tools that deliver unprecedented speed, control and precision: In addition, Adobe added more than 1500 of the most popular fonts to Creative Cloud applications through the Adobe Fonts library, including Arial, Gotham, Helvetica and Times New Roman. AI Agents in Creative Cloud Adobe believes AI agents will be powerful and productive tools for creative professionals similar to how generative AI assists them today. The company recently shared its vision for agentic AI and is working to bring creative professionals tools that can use natural language to access more than 1,000 one-click actions in Photoshop, help them learn new features and handle repetitive tasks with the creator in control and in the driver's seat. Photoshop's new reimagined Actions panel (beta) offers smart suggestions to creators that can inspire them to try out various creative directions and help them choose a series of multi-step edits to undertake. The Actions panel enables them to enact these edits with a single click. It is the foundation of what will become Photoshop's first creative AI agent. Adobe has also laid the foundation for agentic professional video workflows in Premiere Pro with Media Intelligence, which understands the content clips, automatically recognizing objects and the visual composition of shots in every frame. Adobe is also planning to bring agentic AI to Adobe Express, transforming it into a creative partner that helps users of all skill levels quickly and intuitively create standout visual content and bring ideas to life with ease. Supporting the Creative Community As it showcased its latest innovations, Adobe invited the creative community to participate in a new Creative Apprenticeship initiative, aimed at helping the next generation of creators establish themselves in their careers. Adobe has recruited hundreds of mentors and employers to the initiative, which provides participants with hands-on learning opportunities, mentorship and real-world experience. Adobe also announced new protections for creators to help ensure they receive credit for their work and to protect it from misuse and misrepresentation. The launch of the Adobe Content Authenticity app, now in public beta, offers a free tool to let creators choose which information is attached to their work via Content Credentials. It includes verified identity (powered by Verified on LinkedIn and social media accounts. Creators can include a tag in their Content Credentials to state they don't want generative AI models to train on their work. Adobe takes the most creator-friendly approach to AI in the industry. It views AI as a tool for, not a replacement of, human creativity and believes that generative AI can be developed responsibly, starting with respect for creators' rights. For information on our approach to generative AI, visit: https://www.adobe.com/ai/overview/firefly/gen-ai-approach.html About Adobe Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com. © 2025 Adobe. All rights reserved. Adobe and the Adobe logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250424574245/en/

Adobe adds AI models from OpenAI, Google to its Firefly app

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Adobe said on Thursday it is adding image-generation artificial intelligence models from OpenAI and Alphabet's Google to its Firefly app and bringing the app to mobile devices. Adobe is the owner of multiple software programs such as Photoshop and Premiere that are widely used by creative professionals in the visual arts. Since 2023, the San Jose, California-based company has been developing its own AI models in its Firefly service to generate images and video clips, promising its customers that they won't face legal liability for using the images and video created by those models. But last year, Adobe said it was open to also offering third-party models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI and others to its user base. On Thursday, Adobe said that Firefly users will be able to generate images with OpenAI's GPT image generation, Google Imagen 3, Google Veo 2 and Flux 1.1 Pro, in addition to a new version of its own proprietary Firefly image model. The company plans to offer models from partners including Pika, Ideogram, fal.ai, Luma and Runway in the coming months. "We still have lots and lots of customers for whom taking stuff to production, they will only use Firefly because the commercial safety really matters to them," Ely Greenfield, Adobe's chief technology officer for digital media, told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "But for other parts of the workflow, like ideation, they're interested in experimenting with other models as well. So we're making that choice available to them." Adobe shares were up 1.88% in midday trading after the announcement. Adobe's users will be able to generate content with third-party models in Firefly and pull it over into the company's other apps such as Photoshop with a few taps or clicks. They will be able to pay for third-party models with the same system of credits that they use to pay for Adobe's AI models, though Adobe declined to disclose how the revenue will be split between itself and third-party model providers. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)