Adobe has just wrapped MAX 2025, taking its most ambitious step yet toward an AI-powered future of creativity. From embedding AI assistants directly inside its flagship apps to unifying access to top creative AI models under a single plan, Adobe is reshaping how people imagine, design and deliver content.
In a recent conversation with David Wadhwani, President of Digital Media at Adobe, several themes emerged that matter for creators, brands and enterprises alike: a unified AI vision, the evolution of Firefly, the rise of agentic assistants, ecosystem partnerships, and the human skills that will define creative work in the AI era.
A Unified Vision for the AI Era
At MAX 2025, Adobe unveiled a unified AI strategy that brings leading creative models for image, audio and video into one plan, while introducing conversational, AI-powered experiences across Adobe Firefly, Photoshop and Adobe Express.
The goal: put creators at the centre of two powerful forces reshaping creativity today:
Generative AI tools that can quickly turn ideas into content
Agentic AI interfaces that can understand intent, execute tasks and collaborate in context
Adobe is integrating models not only from its own Firefly family, but also from partners including Google, OpenAI, Runway and Luma AI, giving users more choice in how they create and scale content.
For marketers and creative teams, this signals a shift from experimenting with isolated AI tools to working within a more connected, end-to-end creative ecosystem.
Firefly Becomes an All-in-One Creative AI Studio
The Adobe Firefly app is evolving into a full creative AI studio, designed to support every stage of content creation in one place.
Firefly now brings together:
Multiple AI model options
Tools for video, audio, imaging and design
Studio-grade capabilities like Generate Soundtrack, Generate Speech and a timeline-based video editor
Creators can move from an initial idea to a finished piece of content without leaving the app, reducing the need to stitch together workflows across different platforms.
Under the hood, Firefly continues to be trained only on content Adobe has rights to use, and not on user data, an important reassurance for brands and agencies that need commercially safe, rights-respecting outputs for campaigns.
Agentic AI: Assistants as Creative Teammates
One of the biggest shifts at MAX 2025 was the focus on agentic AI, assistants that don’t just answer questions, but take action. Adobe is embedding these agents directly inside tools like Photoshop, Express and Firefly so they can:
Automate repetitive tasks
Help organise assets and apply bulk edits
Guide users through complex workflows
Let creators iterate on content via simple conversational prompts
Adobe also previewed Project Moonlight, a personal orchestration assistant for Firefly designed to connect workflows across multiple Adobe apps (and eventually, beyond). For creative and marketing teams, this means less time spent on production drudgery and more time on concepts, storytelling and strategy.
Partnering to Advance AI-Powered Creativity
Adobe is also leaning into partnerships to give creators and brands more flexibility and power:
An expanded partnership with Google Cloud will bring models like Gemini, Veo and Imagen into Adobe apps. Through Adobe Firefly Foundry, enterprise customers will be able to customise Google’s models with their own proprietary data to generate on-brand content at scale.
A new partnership with YouTube will allow creators to use Premiere Mobile to access exclusive YouTube Shorts templates and pro-level mobile editing tools, making it easier to capture, edit and publish standout content directly from smartphones.
These moves reflect a broader bet: the future of creativity will be built on interoperable ecosystems, where professionals can combine the best technology while staying true to their brand, workflow and vision.
The Ultimate Creative Skill in the AI Age
As AI takes on more of the technical heavy lifting, Adobe’s view is clear: the most valuable skill isn’t purely technical, it’s creative direction.
The creators who thrive will be those who can:
Guide AI with a clear vision and aesthetic
Tell compelling stories across formats
Experiment confidently with new mediums and tools
AI becomes another instrument in the creative toolbox, not a replacement for human imagination. In this view, the future belongs to teams who treat AI as a collaborator, one that can amplify ideas, increase velocity and free humans to focus on emotion, meaning and originality.
For agencies, brands, publishers and platforms in Aotearoa, Adobe MAX 2025 offers a glimpse into how creative workflows will evolve:
Faster content production without sacrificing brand safety
More connected tools and models, reducing friction between ideation and delivery
Smarter assistants that handle repetitive tasks so teams can focus on strategy and big ideas
New expectations from clients and audiences around what’s possible with AI-driven content
As AI capabilities accelerate, the opportunity is to combine best-in-class tools with distinctly human creativity and local market insight.
Watch the Adobe Max Keynote video below: