Amplifying human creativity: Adobe Stock defines new guidelines for content made with generative AI

Adobe Stock, a global marketplace with over 320 million creative assets, has defined new guidelines for submissions of illustrations developed with generative AI — expanding how customers enhance their creative projects. Early generative AI technologies have raised questions about how it should be properly used. Adobe has deeply considered these questions and implemented a new submission policy that we believe will ensure our content uses AI technology responsibly by creators and customers alike.

Generative AI is a major leap forward for creators, leveraging machine learning’s incredible power to ideate faster by developing imagery using words, sketches, and gestures. Adobe Stock contributors are using AI tools and technologies to diversify their portfolios, expand their creativity, and increase their earning potential. Going forward, these submissions must meet our guidelines for AI generated content, notably including our ask that contributors label generative AI submissions.

While early generative AI technologies have raised valid concerns, Adobe is committed to helping lead the evolution that will come from this technology into tools that empower artists, while never seeking to replace human imagination. Properly built, used, and disclosed to viewers, generative AI can be a powerful tool to enhance creativity, accelerating the creative process to benefit both consumers of digital assets and the community of contributors who produce those assets.

We’re also continuing to invest in attribution innovations, including digital provenance technology developed by the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI). With more than 800 members, the CAI is enabling attribution for creators, while providing transparency about the facts and origins of digital content — beyond just Adobe products.

Our generative AI policy puts the power of these tools in the hands of artists, enabling contributors to earn royalties for AI-generated content according to our royalty guidelines, just as they do for other content.

Royalty guidelines and content moderation

When it comes to moderating AI-generated content, Adobe Stock is applying the same policies we use for other submitted content, to ensure new assets meet customer needs. Releases are still required for identifiable people and property, and standard IP indemnification is included in the unlikely event that a claim arises regarding an asset. In addition, our generative AI policy prohibits submissions based on third-party content — including text prompts referring to people, places, property, or an artist’s style — without proper authorization.

AI-generated content is offered under the same licensing terms as other sources of content. Our policy asks our contributors to proactively label their generative AI content; we’ll soon add more features to make this content even more transparent. When generative-AI is used and labeled properly to create useful and beautiful content — so that customers are clear about the provenance of the assets they are choosing – we believe it deserves a place in our Stock collection.