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Is Photoshop dead? How AI tools are unbundling Adobe’s creative empire
For many, Adobe Photoshop skills were once defined by painstaking control: the mastery of masks, brushes, and filters. That definition may now be obsolete.
For decades, Adobe Photoshop has been the crown jewel of digital creativity. It became shorthand for professional polish, the go-to software for designers, photographers, and marketers. But in 2025, the question is sharper than ever: is Photoshop finally dead, buried under the weight of AI-native tools like Nano Banana and Gemini 2.5 Flash? Or is it merely evolving into something else — less about pixels and layers, more about orchestration in the age of artificial intelligence?
The Shifting Role of Creative Tools
“I don't think that Photoshop is dead; but the way people use creative tools is changing quickly,” said Akshay Mathur, Founder & CEO, Unpromptd. “For years, Photoshop was the gold standard, the place you went if you wanted professional polish. What is happening now with apps like Nano Banana is that creativity has become more accessible and faster. You no longer need to know every layer or mask command to get results. Photoshop’s dominance is being tested, but its relevance is not over.”
Mathur points out that what’s really in decline is not Photoshop per se, but the very idea of single-purpose creative software. “Single-purpose tools that do one thing really well are under pressure because AI-first platforms can generate, edit, and adapt all in one flow. That said, creative professionals will always need depth, precision, and fine control. A casual marketer may be happy with one-click AI edits, but a film studio or fashion house still values the craft. This looks more like segmentation than extinction.”
AI Unbundling Photoshop’s Kingdom
Photoshop’s greatest strength for decades was its dominance across creative categories. But Mathur warns that we may be witnessing a reversal. “It is hard to see one winner taking all in creative AI. Adobe is embedding AI into its legacy suite. Canva has democratized design for millions. ElevenLabs is transforming audio. Runway is leading in video. Each of these tools is building dominance in its own creative vertical. The more provocative view is that we are actually watching Photoshop get unbundled. Adobe once bundled everything creative into one massive suite. Now AI tools are breaking that apart.”
Adobe’s counter-strategy has been Firefly, its generative AI engine integrated directly into Photoshop and Illustrator. Tools like Generative Fill, which let users add or remove elements with simple text prompts, are meant to blend AI efficiency with professional-grade reliability. “This is Adobe’s advantage. It does not need to replace Photoshop. It just needs to evolve it into an AI-native tool while keeping the control and reliability that made it the industry standard in the first place,” said Mathur.
From Execution to Direction
For many, Photoshop skills were once defined by painstaking control: the mastery of masks, brushes, and filters. That definition may now be obsolete.
“AI isn’t killing Photoshop skills — it’s transforming them from craft to creative direction,” said Shitu Patil, Co-Founder & Creative Head, PlusOne. “Not obsolete — but the definition of ‘skill’ is changing. Photoshop was always about control, patience, and craft. AI-native tools flatten that learning curve — suddenly anyone can produce edits that once took years of practice. But what gets lost is intentionality. The designer’s edge isn’t vanishing, it’s shifting: from how to execute to how to direct.”
Patil argues that Adobe’s true moat lies not in Photoshop as a standalone, but in orchestration. “Adobe’s strength has always been orchestration. Professionals don’t use Photoshop in isolation — Illustrator, After Effects, Firefly, Express — these are connected highways where campaigns get built end-to-end. That’s sticky for brand marketers who need consistency at scale. But let’s be real: casual users don’t care about ecosystems, they want immediacy. That’s where Nano Banana or Gemini will win.”
In Patil’s words: “Pros value integration. The next generation values immediacy. Adobe has to bridge both without losing its soul.”
Markets, Melodrama, and Adobe’s Pivot
Investors aren’t convinced. Adobe’s stock is down 35% this year, as AI disruption fears weigh heavy. But experts caution against overreaction.
“Markets love melodrama. Remember when Microsoft was written off pre-cloud? Adobe’s sell-off feels similar,” said Patil. “The fundamentals are intact: decades of trust, workflows embedded in every creative department, and file standards the industry still runs on. But the existential threat is real if Adobe positions itself as a gatekeeper. The opportunity is if they flip to being an enabler — letting AI flow through their ecosystem without friction. That’s the pivot Wall Street isn’t pricing yet.”
Sourya Banerjee, Associate Director - Public Policy Communication at Jajabor Brand Consultancy, echoed that view: “This is more of a market signal than an overreaction. The threat may be existential only if Adobe had refused to react and doubled down on the existing way of getting things done. But Adobe has recognized the market signals and adopted and integrated AI within their systems. The challenge is not mere AI adoption — every company has started applying some layer of AI. The challenge is utilizing AI to reduce the skill barrier and increase efficiency for those already used to Photoshop.”
Decline, Reinvention, Resurrection
Still, some believe Photoshop’s cultural dominance is gone for good.
“Yes Photoshop’s decline is inevitable, but it won’t completely die. It will remain only with far and few professionals who would want to use it to edit that absolute finer things in their own particular way,” said Bhavesh Kosambia, Content Lead, Wondrlab. “Otherwise, the original purpose of its use is really losing hands down to the new age AI tools and so far whatever they have tried to catch up they have failed miserably. So reinvention will be resurrection for them.”
Kosambia adds that the future won’t belong to one winner. “With AI there won’t be one clear winner. Each one — whether it’s Adobe, Google, or any open AI — will eventually find their niche. Some will flourish in research-based segments while others will make a huge impact in creation-based apps. Each will eventually find its own space.”
The Value of Human Judgment
Even Photoshop’s fiercest critics acknowledge something AI cannot yet replace: human taste.
“Photoshop didn’t just teach people to erase blemishes or play with layers, it trained a generation to think like visual architects,” said Ekta Banodkar, Creative Director, ABND. “AI-native tools like Gemini 2.5 Flash can replicate and even accelerate those edits, sure. But they don’t yet encode decades of human intuition about composition, nuance, or subtlety. The real question is, do we need a skill set if the tool can fake mastery? For brands, designers, and visual storytellers, the answer is yes. The skill now shifts from hands-on execution to orchestration, curation, and judgment.”
Saurabh Sankpal, Chief Creative Head at Wit & Chai Group, makes the analogy clearer: “The value of Photoshop as a professional skill will not get obsolete but only evolve. Just like photography didn’t die with the arrival of smartphones, but eventually made everyone a photographer, similarly Photoshop won’t die with AI editors. Instead, those who can combine AI’s efficiency with Photoshop’s depth will be the ones who stand out.”
Photoshop’s Future: From Tool to Podium
So is Photoshop dead? Not really. But it is no longer the singular default. Its future lies not in monopolizing creativity, but in conducting it.
“The canvas is evolving into a control room,” said Patil. “Instead of drawing every pixel, tomorrow’s Photoshop will let creatives orchestrate multiple AI models — one for texture, one for type, one for light. The professional advantage won’t be knowing which menu hides which tool, but ensuring brand coherence when 10 AI systems are spitting out options. Photoshop’s future isn’t as a tool. It’s the conductor’s podium for brand-safe AI creativity.”
Or as Patil put it more bluntly: “AI commoditises execution. Human creativity still decides meaning.”
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