Photoshop is getting some new collaboration tools and AI capabilities to help remove some of the more tedious parts of image editing. Announced at Adobe Max 2022, these new features include improvements to automated object selections, content-aware fills, file-sharing collaboration, and content crediting to ensure proper attribution of work. The new features are shipping in updated versions of Photoshop for desktop, iPad, and web (beta) rolling out today.
First up, improvements to the Adobe Sensei AI mean that higher-quality object selections can be made in the desktop Photoshop app. The Object Selection tool was originally introduced back in 2020, allowing users to quickly select an object with a single click, negating the need to create their own layer masks.
These automated object selections can now recognize more complex objects — like the sky, plants, water, sidewalks, buildings, and human and animal subjects — that may not necessarily have a notable edge. Even details such as fine wisps of hair can be detected and automatically selected using the tool.
The Photoshop desktop app is also getting a one-click delete and fill tool that can remove and then replace objects with Content Aware as a single action, saving creators time when making quick edits and making the overall experience more accessible to those new to the software.
Multiplatform Photoshop users are also being treated to some tools from the desktop app, with both Photoshop on iPad and the Photoshop for web beta getting a similar AI-powered one-tap Content Aware Fill and Remove Background feature to easily remove unwanted objects. One-tap Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color commands are also coming to Photoshop for iPad to make swift adjustments to an image.
A new Neural Filter is also being introduced that will utilize machine learning to make complex edits in seconds. The Photo Restoration Neural Filter can take old and damaged photographs and restore them, automatically detecting and correcting scratches and other imperfections.
The existing Paste as Layers feature used across both Photoshop and Illustrator is being upgraded to include copy / paste of live, editable text while preserving type attributes such as font, size, and color. Paste as Layers support already allows Illustrator layers such as vector shapes, compound shapes, and clipping masks to be imported directly into Photoshop. Paste as Layers is only available on the desktop release of Photoshop, and only available on versions 23.x and 24.x.
A beta feature called Content Credentials is being rolled out that will allow creators to attach attribution metadata to their image when exporting a file, helping designers to be properly credited for their work even without a physical watermark. Metadata is only exported when the user creates a JPG or PNG.
The Content Credentials feature was first introduced at last year’s Adobe Max conference but will now be generally available in Photoshop as an opt-in feature for all Creative Cloud subscribers. Anyone can inspect an image’s credentials over on Verify, a service created to address content authenticity with a notable list of collaborators that includes Adobe, Twitter, Microsoft, The New York Times, and Qualcomm.
Finally, a new Share for Review feature is currently in beta that will allow creatives to easily share a version of their work as a web link. “We’re trying to make it super easy for people to work on their document, take a snapshot to share with their stakeholders, and then actually see the comments coming right back into the product,” said Maria Yap, VP of digital imaging at Adobe. “Our professional users won’t always want their stakeholders to look at the actual file in progress.”
This new feature eliminates the need to download a PSD to share with stakeholders via email, enabling collaborators or clients to review and comment on the project directly within their web browser. As a version of the file is used rather than a direct link to the master copy, creators can control the areas of a project that they want to share and collaborate on with other parties. The feature doesn’t require a Creative Cloud subscription and will sync comments across devices.