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On Wednesday, tech behemoth IBM made public its adoption of Adobe Firefly, a cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, across its design and marketing divisions to enhance operational efficiency.
During an interview with FOX Business, Billy Seabrook, the global chief design officer at IBM Consulting, disclosed that the company’s design teams have been actively utilizing Firefly since its initial launch last year. The gradual expansion of Firefly’s integration culminated in the recent announcement.
Seabrook elaborated on the journey of experimentation with Firefly, stating, “We have over 20,000 individuals leveraging Adobe Creative Cloud, allowing us to explore Firefly’s capabilities since its beta phase in March last year. The primary focus was on internal experimentation to comprehend the tool’s potential. Upon its general availability, we rigorously evaluated the tool and decided to implement it across all our practitioners in its current form.”
Adobe Introduces Innovative Generative AI Tools for Creative Platforms
IBM is rolling out the Adobe Firefly generative AI tool across its marketing and design teams. (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Seabrook highlighted that during the initial internal trial period, IBM’s design teams leveraged Firefly to enhance their design process.
He explained, “We explored ways to expedite the ideation process by generating a plethora of ideas and creative stimuli, leading to the creation of prototypes or storyboards to map out concepts effectively.”
As Adobe Firefly evolved with enhanced features such as style matching post its launch last year, IBM’s design teams broadened their utilization of this AI tool.
“We integrated Firefly into core tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, expanding its usage accordingly. This enabled us to leverage generative fill capabilities in our standard production processes,” Seabrook added. “It transitioned from being merely an ideation and inspiration tool to becoming a productivity enhancer for content creation at scale.”
Adobe’s Generative AI Suite Firefly Now Accessible for Commercial Applications
IBM is employing Adobe Firefly to collaborate with clients on marketing strategies and content requirements. (Courtesy of Adobe / Getty Images)
Internally, IBM is utilizing Adobe Firefly to develop IBM-branded materials, including a successful social media campaign.
Seabrook shared, “Last year, we conducted an engaging social media campaign as an experiment. Focused on texturing images and symbols, the campaign showcased the versatility of generative AI, particularly Firefly. The productivity gains were significant, demonstrating personalized content creation at scale.”
Understanding Artificial Intelligence (AI)
IBM is harnessing the power of Adobe Firefly AI tool to craft branded marketing content. (Courtesy of Adobe / Getty Images)
Furthermore, IBM’s consulting teams are leveraging Firefly to assist external clients in utilizing generative AI for content creation and creative strategies. They are also establishing internal workflows and governance models to ensure responsible AI adoption.
Seabrook explained, “We guide clients in integrating their style guides and image libraries into the AI model without compromising proprietary data. We assist them in strategizing with Firefly to maintain brand consistency, emphasizing the importance of creative quality and brand relevance. We also coach them on prompt engineering to optimize the tool’s output in alignment with their brand identity.”
Adobe has been a key software provider to IBM, and the collaboration between the two companies is strengthening with the widespread adoption of Adobe Firefly. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Seabrook emphasized that IBM’s expanded deployment of Adobe Firefly marks “the next phase of our partnership with Adobe.” He underscored IBM’s substantial utilization of Adobe software and marketing cloud services, expressing optimism about the transformative potential of AI in enhancing marketing operations and achieving personalized content delivery at scale—a longstanding goal in the marketing realm.
