Adobe Brings OpenAI and Google Models to Firefly App
With support for GPT, Imagen 3, and more, Adobe’s Firefly update signals a new era of AI collaboration across the creative tech space.
AI has quietly become a cornerstone of the creative industry. Once a novelty, it's now powering everything from graphic design to video editing, reshaping how creatives work across the board.
Tools like OpenAI’s DALL·E and Google’s Imagen have pushed the limits of imagination, generating hyper-realistic visuals from text prompts. Midjourney's moody aesthetic has made it a favourite among concept artists and designers, while startups like Runway are making AI video generation more accessible than ever. The line between human creativity and machine assistance has never been blurrier.
Adobe, the OG of creative software, isn’t sitting this one out. The company just rolled out major updates to Firefly—its generative AI app launched in 2023. Initially, Firefly leaned on Adobe’s in-house models and trained on licensed content to keep things legally clean. Now, it’s opening the doors wider. Users can now generate images using third-party models like OpenAI’s DALL·E, Google’s Imagen 3 and Veo 2, and Flux 1.1 Pro—all directly within Firefly, with plans to add Runway, Luma, and Pika to the mix soon.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
In other words, creators get more freedom to experiment without bouncing between apps or worrying about file formats. Everything still runs on Adobe’s credit-based system, so switching between models won’t complicate billing either.
It’s a strong addition from Adobe, and with this coming just days after OpenAI released its image generation API, more cross-app integrations could be on the way. It’s also interesting to see Adobe collaborate with platforms that are basically its competition, instead of going head-to-head with them. Firefly is still relatively new in the game, so the tactic isn’t a bad one.
Of course, AI-generated content raises questions, mainly around legality and originality. Adobe assures users that content created with its models is commercially safe. It also tags AI outputs with content credentials like metadata that shows how an image was made and whether AI was involved.
At a time when AI is both a creative co-pilot and a disruptive force, Adobe’s approach feels like a balancing act—amplifying possibilities while keeping creators protected. Whether you’re a designer, marketer, or just AI-curious, Firefly’s evolution is definitely one to watch.
Kelechi Edeh
