Generative AI has become a regular companion for creators worldwide, according to Adobe’s first Creators’ Toolkit Report. The global study of more than sixteen thousand participants found that 86 percent of creators now use creative generative AI tools in their daily process. What began as a casual experiment has become an essential part of how digital artists plan, design, and share their work.
Among them, 76 percent believe these tools have helped expand their business or personal brand. The same trend reflects across creative communities where generative AI supports tasks such as video production, graphic design, music editing, and digital art. Far from replacing originality, many creators view it as a growth engine that accelerates idea generation and improves the quality of their output.
From Ideation to Editing: A Tool for Every Stage
The survey reveals that creative AI has spread across multiple stages of the creative workflow. More than 55 percent of creators use it for editing, upscaling, or enhancing media, while 52 percent rely on it to produce new visual or video assets. About 48 percent use AI for brainstorming or concept development, showing how flexible and wide-ranging its role has become.
Most creators also mix tools to get the best results. Around 60 percent said they had used more than one generative AI platform in the past three months, testing various capabilities and matching tools to different project goals. This multi-tool approach shows that creative professionals prefer variety and control rather than depending on a single system.
Trust and Transparency Still Matter
Even as AI grows in popularity, creators remain cautious about how these technologies handle data. Roughly 69 percent worry that their work could be used to train AI without consent. Cost and inconsistent output quality also limit wider adoption, with 38 percent pointing to pricing as a concern and 34 percent citing reliability issues. About 28 percent expressed uncertainty about how AI models are trained, reflecting the ongoing demand for transparency and ethical design.
Agentic AI and Mobile Creation on the Rise
Looking ahead, creators are turning their attention to “agentic” AI — tools that can anticipate and perform multi-step actions. Around 70 percent feel optimistic about this next stage, and 85 percent say they would use systems that adapt to their personal creative style. The study also highlights a shift toward mobile creation: 72 percent frequently create content directly on their phones, and 75 percent expect to do even more mobile-based work next year.
A New Phase in the Creator Economy
Taken together, the findings suggest that creative generative AI has matured from an optional aid into a vital component of the global creator economy. With the majority of creators now integrating AI across their workflow, the boundary between digital artistry and intelligent automation is becoming less distinct. What remains constant, however, is the human direction behind the tools — a reminder that technology may enhance creativity, but it does not replace it.
While embracing autonomous creative tools may boost output, creators risk undermining authenticity and control when they fully hand over decision-making to AI without human oversight.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools. Image: Asso Myron / Unsplash
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