Adobe survey: AI is helping creators grow, but not without tradeoffs

Adobe published a report today showing that creators are increasingly embracing creative AI, with 75% of respondents now describing it as integrated or essential to how they work. Here are the details.

Adobe’s second 2026 Creators’ Toolkit Report released

Adobe today published its 2026 Creators’ Toolkit Report, based on a survey of more than 16,000 creators in Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, the U.K., and the U.S.

While last year’s report found that adoption of creative AI tools was accelerating, this year’s edition suggests the technology has become an integral part of how many creators work.

In general, creators said AI-powered creative tools are helping them work faster, though their outputs still often require significant editing. In fact, editing and retaining control of the final output remain essential.

According to Adobe, “57% say their creative AI outputs typically require moderate or extensive editing before they’re ready to share.” Adobe also found that creators are now looking beyond AI-powered tools, and more into how agentic AI might help them further streamline the practical aspects of creative work. Here, control is also a big factor:

(…) when creators imagine what they would do with the time agents free up, the answer is telling — 22% say they’d focus on learning new creative skills, and 21% say they’d spend more time on higher-level creative ideas and direction.

And

“When asked what would make them most comfortable giving an AI agent more independence, their answers reveal a consistent logic around control: 44% want the ability to review, edit, or undo at any point, 37% want transparency into what the agent is doing and why, and 34% want clear limits on what data and tools it can access.”

On the question of the impact of AI in the creative job market, Adobe highlights that 48% of respondents “say creative AI makes them feel more secure about their future as a creator.” Still, the fact that this remains below a majority suggests creators are far from universally reassured about what AI means for the future of their work.

The report also points to a more crowded creator economy, where lower barriers to publishing have made it harder for some creators to stand out. Here’s Adobe:

“Among creators who say it’s harder to stand out today than a year ago, 53% point to sheer content volume as the culprit, while 42% say AI-generated content is making it harder for unique voices to stand out.”

On the flip side, the report noted that “58% say their ability to compete with larger teams or studios feels stronger since using creative AI.”

Other interesting tidbits from the report include:

• 87% say it has accelerated the growth of their business or follower base.
• 75% believe their audience can already tell when creative AI was meaningfully involved in their work, with 49% saying they always or often disclose AI use, and 18% saying they rarely or never do
• 35% say it gives them more freedom to experiment before pitching ideas
• 33% say it gives them the confidence to pursue more ambitious ideas and
• projects.

Adobe says the full report will be published here, and we’ll update this post with a direct link when it is available.

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