Photoshop on the web adds AI Assistant beta with AI Markup targeting

Photoshop on the web now includes an AI Assistant beta that Adobe positions as a conversational editing layer. The launch screen in the update post pairs “Get creative with AI Assistant” with “Enhance images with AI Markup,” framing the release around faster ideation and more directed edits.

The clearest workflow example came from a recorded test, where a single prompt — “add a glitch effect and grade it like 90s nostalgia” — triggered automated layer creation, effect application, and color work. That matters for designers who normally burn time building the first pass by hand; here, the assistant roughs in the stack and leaves the user to tweak taste and finish.

AI Markup is the more production-minded addition. In Adobe’s demo, the user draws visual annotations onto the image and pairs them with text instructions like “Add sunlight” or “Add a circus themed background,” giving the model spatial guidance instead of a broad whole-image command. That makes the tool read less like a generic chatbot and more like directed art notes on the canvas.

Adobe is also tying that edit flow into the rest of Firefly. The sync walkthrough shows AI Assistant work in Photoshop web moving into Firefly Boards, while the Firefly Boards update adds Topaz Astra upscaling to 1080p or 4K. A separate Adobe panel in the speech feature preview shows Generate Speech beta bringing in 70-plus voices from Adobe and ElevenLabs, with controls for emotion, pacing, and emphasis. Together, the update looks less like one chat feature and more like Adobe tightening the path from rough edit to polished motion asset.