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Photoshop
At Adobe Max London in April 2024, Adobe rolled out a wave of new AI-generative features for Photoshop and Photoshop Beta, and the video demonstrates each one hands-on — most available Beta-only — to show what's new, how it works, and how it compares to the previous generation of tools.
Generative Fill now has a reference-image button (Beta only) so users can guide a replacement generation with an actual image instead of, or alongside, a text prompt.
Photoshop Beta is a separate app installed via the Creative Cloud desktop app (Apps > Beta tab) and can run alongside the regular version; the host recommends keeping the regular version for professional work.
Photoshop Beta now runs Firefly Model 3 for generative AI, while the regular version still runs Firefly Model 1, and the video runs several side-by-side comparisons between the two.
A new dedicated 'Generate Image' dialog on a blank document mimics the Firefly website, offering Photo/Art modes plus effects, themes, materials, and style options like bokeh, digital art, layered paper, and watercolor.
Remove Background followed by a new Generate Background button lets users auto-remove a background and then generate a new AI background from a prompt that matches the subject's lighting, perspective, and color.
A brand new font panel (available even in the regular, non-Beta version) categorizes system fonts and links to over 20,000 Adobe Fonts with real-time live preview and background installation.
A new 'Generate Similar' option lets users click any generation result's three-dot menu to produce further variations resembling that specific result, and it works across Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Generate Background, and text-to-image generation.
A new 'Enhance Detail' button improves low-resolution generative fill results by refining the seam between original and generated pixels, though it can also introduce unwanted new details.
The host recommends their own free PiXimperfect Compositing Panel as a better route to true high-resolution generation, since it generates image areas piece by piece.
The Adjustment Brush, previously released, is now much improved: it supports nearly all adjustment types (including Curves, which it lacked before) and gains Select Subject and Select Object buttons for auto-masking a whole subject or an individual clicked object.
Generative Fill with Reference Image — A Photoshop Beta-only addition to Generative Fill that lets a user attach a reference image alongside or instead of a text prompt so the AI generates a replacement styled after that image. Apply: Make a selection around the object to replace, click Generative Fill, click the new reference-image button, choose a reference image, optionally add a short prompt, and click Generate.
Photoshop Beta (separate app install) — A separate, installable version of Photoshop that ships new AI features first, meant to be kept alongside the regular version rather than replacing it. Apply: Open the Creative Cloud desktop app, go to Apps, click the Beta tab, and install Photoshop Beta, while using the regular version for professional/production work as the video recommends.
Firefly Model 3 — Adobe's newer generative AI model powering text-to-image and generative fill in Photoshop Beta, contrasted with Firefly Model 1 still used in the regular version. Apply: Use Photoshop Beta's generative features (Generate Image, Generative Fill) to access Model 3's higher-detail outputs instead of the regular app's Model 1.
Generate Image (text-to-image dialog) — A dedicated dialog box resembling the Firefly website for generating an image from scratch on a blank document, offering Photo/Art modes and style options like effects, themes, materials, bokeh, digital art, layered paper, and watercolor. Apply: Open a new blank document, ensure the contextual taskbar is enabled via the Window menu, click Generate Image, type a prompt, choose Photo or Art plus any style options, then click Generate.
Remove Background / Generate Background — A two-step contextual-taskbar workflow that first auto-removes an image's background, then generates a new AI background from a text prompt that matches the subject's lighting, perspective, and color. Apply: Open an image, click Remove Background in the contextual taskbar, then click the new Generate Background button, type a description, and click Generate.
New Font Panel / Adobe Fonts integration — A redesigned font dropdown, available even in the regular non-Beta version, that categorizes installed system fonts by type (serif, slab serif, sans serif, etc.) and links to over 20,000 Adobe Fonts with real-time live preview before installation. Apply: Select a text layer, open the text tool's font dropdown, browse categorized system fonts or click 'more fonts' to browse Adobe Fonts by category or tag, preview live, and click a font to auto-install and apply it.
Generate Similar — An option on any AI generation result that produces new variations resembling that specific result, working across Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Generate Background, and text-to-image generation. Apply: After generating multiple results, click the three-dot menu on the result you like best and choose Generate Similar to get new variations based on it.
Generative Expand — An existing Photoshop feature, used here with the Crop tool, that extends an image's canvas and fills the new area with AI-generated content matching the scene. Apply: Press C for the Crop tool, drag the canvas boundary outward, click Generative Expand, optionally type a prompt, and click Generate.
Enhance Detail — A button appearing after a Generative Fill result that sharpens and adds detail to low-resolution generated areas by refining the seam between original and generated pixels. Apply: After generating a fill result, click the Enhance Detail button to improve resolution, then review the result for any unwanted added texture or artifacts before accepting.
PiXimperfect Compositing Panel — The video host's own free Photoshop plugin, recommended as an alternative to Enhance Detail for genuinely high-resolution generative results by generating image areas piece by piece. Apply: Install the free PiXimperfect Compositing Panel and use its one-click generation feature when true high-resolution output is needed instead of relying on Enhance Detail.
Adjustment Brush (with Select Subject / Select Object) — An improved brush tool that paints an adjustment layer's effect directly onto the image without manually building the layer and mask, now supporting nearly all adjustment types including Curves, plus Select Subject and Select Object buttons that auto-mask a whole subject or an individual clicked object. Apply: Select the Adjustment Brush tool, choose an adjustment type such as Curves or Hue/Saturation from the options bar or contextual taskbar, then paint directly on areas to adjust, click Select Subject to mask the whole subject, or click Select Object and click an individual object to mask just that object, using the Overlay toggle to preview painted areas.
Reference-image generation is described as capturing only 'the sense of the style' rather than literally copying design details — in the demo the cat ears and chains from the reference bag don't transfer, but the dots do.
Leaving the text prompt blank while using a reference image barely changes the result ('it doesn't make a hell lot of a difference'), suggesting the reference image dominates guidance over text at this stage of the feature.
The host frames the Model 1 vs Model 3 quality gap in educational terms — regular Photoshop's output looks like 'the first year art student drew it' while Beta's looks like work from 'a final semester maybe graduated student' — positioning it as a generational leap, not an incremental tweak.
Enhance Detail is explained as literally 'building up on the existing generation' rather than regenerating from scratch, which is why it can add unwanted texture (e.g., coarse skin texture) instead of just cleaning up the image.
The video pivots from Adobe's native Enhance Detail button to recommending the host's own free Compositing Panel plugin for genuine high-resolution results, blending an instructional feature tour with a plug for the host's own tool.
Select Object (used with the Adjustment Brush) only appears in the UI when the Adjustment Brush tool itself is selected — a gating detail that explains why the option can seem to be missing.
«if you don't evolve you evaporate»
— 00:01
«I'm so sorry if you're using a Captain Jack Sparrow version of Photoshop»
— 02:30
«there you go I mean it's not a perfect match but it is a step in the right direction»
— 01:11
«the AI seems to just get the sense of the style»
— 01:24
«this is a night and day difference»
— 04:46
«it is simply building up on the existing generation»
— 10:13
«if you really want true highquality generation I highly recommend trying piximperfect compositing panel»
— 10:15
«this only shows up when you have the adjustment brush selected»
— 12:12
Reception
Audience appreciates the demonstrated features and presenter quality, but widespread confusion about feature availability in current versions tempers enthusiasm.
A tightly paced, demo-first product-update rundown that backs its claims with direct before/after comparisons rather than mere description of each new feature, while also doubling as a plug for the host's own free Compositing Panel plugin.
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