When it comes to productive AI tools, Photoshop is packed with plenty to use in your daily workflow. And we’re not talking about simple AI image generators. These are useful, customizable options that you can use to create better, more usable projects that don’t look too dialed in or too artificial. All are available to you for free as a Photoshop user.
For my part, I was amazed at how well Photoshop’s AI works and I put together all my experiences using Photoshop’s AI in this guide. But to be clear, AI tools certainly won’t be for everyone, especially professionals who know Photoshop inside and out. If you’re a beginner or someone looking for help figuring out which Photoshop AI tools to check out, this is for you.
Before using Adobe’s AI, you will need to agree to the AI terms of service, which includes the company’s policy forbidding the illegal and abusive use of its AI. You can find these features in Photoshop on desktop, web and now even on your phone. For more, check out Adobe’s new AI audio tools again The upcoming AI assistant for Photoshop that can automatically rename all your layers.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a favorite Google source in Chrome.
How to create AI images using Photoshop
Adobe’s AI image model Firefly is available as a separate app and embedded in Photoshop so you can use it wherever it’s convenient for you. If you’re already creating in Photoshop, here’s how to access Firefly.
- Open your Photoshop project. If you are using the most recent version of PS, the context taskbar should include an option Produce a picture.
- Navigate to Organizeand then click Produce picture. You can also click on the icon that looks like a picture with an arrow and it glows in the toolbar on the left.
- Enter your information, specify the style and upload any reference photos.
- Click Produce.
- Tap on the different types by using the arrows on the task bar below.
When writing your information, don’t be afraid to add a lot of details, and put the most important things first. Check out our quick AI photo editing guide for more tips to get better results. If you’re not fond of photos, you can click the photo output window or the four-square icon to edit your quick and reference photos. You can tap the three vertical dots at the end of the pin bar to give feedback to generations, remove the background or generate similar images. If you still don’t like what you have, I recommend starting over with a new command rather than trying to endlessly tweak and reproduce, hoping to fix it.
How to use creative features in Photoshop
You can also use AI productivity tools to edit your existing project in Photoshop. Generative filling, expansion and subtraction are some of the most popular AI tools. Here’s how to use each one.
Productive filling it’s like a miniaturized AI image generator. It is one of the most popular AI tools in Photoshop. With production fill, you can select a specific area of your project, enter text information and it will create a design for that area. You can find production fills by going to Edit > Production fills. Be sure to use the selection brush tool. Mark the location where you want the items to appear, type your information and click generate.
Production expansion useful if you need more space in an image. You can create new parts of your image to easily blend in with your current image or you can enter text information and create a new area. You can also use it to scale your project. To get to the productive enlargement, choose the crop tool, cut your canvas to any size you want, enter information if you want and click produce.
I edited my original image (left) to include more sky and sand with generative fill and then added AI seagulls with generative fill.
Productive output it’s like rubber with supercharged AI. The tool isolates and removes certain elements from your project without disturbing the entire image. There are two ways to delete objects from your task. First to select an object with the object selection tool, click on the generated fill and enter the word “delete” in the notification. Otherwise you can use the delete tool (Spot healing tool > Delete tool) to manually highlight the objects you want removed.
Read more: Photoshop’s Perfect Blend Concept Stuns With Blended Images
Some AI tools to try in Photoshop
The change of the sky is a cool AI tool that can add drama to your scenes. You can create another sky by navigating to Edit > Change Sky and choosing from a variety of options, including sunset, blue sky and colorful options labeled “spectacle.” Once you’ve chosen a preset you like, you can manually adjust the brightness and other features.
In this example I used AI sky replacement to add a blue Carolina sky (right) to my original photo of Kenan Stadium (left).
Generate background works well for product photography or other photography where the subject or object is the focal point of the image. Load your image into Photoshop, click remove background in the context taskbar (the pin that appears when you select a layer) and click generate background. Some sites are better than others. The cityscapes I made looked fake, but a colored or patterned background came out well.
There are other AI tools that may be better for you depending on your project. Neural Filters can be used for detailed photo editing, and bent pen it can help designers to create arcs that look the same. We also expect to see AI-powered editing tools introduced in Photoshop this year.
Overall, Photoshop’s AI suite performed well. Some tools were useful but you should know that the tools are designed to be used to get the best results. For example, the production extension was great for resizing images and I found the production extraction to be very good for erasing photo explosions. Some tools, like the change sky tool, work for some images but not others. I wouldn’t use Photoshop’s AI for every project, but I think there may be times when it’s a good option.
For more, check out Adobe’s AI video generator and the best AI video producers.
