Generative AI threatens Adobe Photoshop’s dominance as market value drops
Generative AI is rapidly challenging Adobe Photoshop’s dominance in the image editing market, leading to a 13% drop in Adobe’s market value as consumers increasingly favour AI-driven apps like Google Gemini and Canva for their simplicity and efficiency. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image editing apps like Adobe Photoshop and Creative Cloud may soon become completely redundant thanks to rapidly evolving generative AI.
Google Gemini, for me, stands out in its image manipulation ability through a simple text prompt.
It effectively eliminates hours spent editing images the ‘old-fashioned’ way.
It wasn’t too long ago that I can remember meticulously going through photos in Adobe Photoshop in order to remove a background or make even small image manipulations. Sometimes an edit on a single pic could take many hours, depending on the level of detail the adjustments needed.
Adobe’s Market Value Drops 13% Amid AI-Driven Competitors
On LinkedIn, a recent post highlighted a stark reality: Adobe has “lost over 13% of its market value.
Experts agree that the future looks bleak for tech giants like Adobe, and that’s even though Creative Cloud is integrating AI into many of its core functions.
The fact remains though, Adobe is synonymous with professional photo editing and the majority of consumers are now gravitating towards a much simpler workflow. AI-infused apps therefore cater to that rapidly growing segment of the market.
Apps like Canva, in particular, are becoming more prevalent in workplaces. With workflows built from the ground up with AI integration, it’s difficult for Adobe to compete when it comes to ease of use.
Back when I was studying, many, many years ago now - Adobe was the King of photo editing. Learning how to best utilise this powerful software was key if you wanted to make it as a photographer.
Now, no particular photography skills are even needed as the most powerful photo editing ability ever is now one text prompt away.
Adobe is aware of this, and they’re pushing hard to remain relevant. But it’s difficult to see how it can do so in the long term.