Firefly AI Assistant: Plan Mode, Model Selector and Credits

Last updated: November 10, 2026

Adobe expanded Firefly AI Assistant (beta), powered by the Adobe Creative Agent, at Adobe MAX on November 10, 2026. The update adds Plan mode for approving work before it runs, a model selector, saved brand and format preferences, and the assistant inside Firefly Boards. Always-on background agents are in preview.

What’s new in Firefly AI Assistant
Before and after the MAX 2026 update
How to use Plan mode and the model selector
Who can use it, and where
Credits and limits
Power-user workflows
Limitations to know
FAQ

What’s new in Firefly AI Assistant

Firefly AI Assistant is the conversational assistant inside Adobe Firefly. You describe an outcome, and it chooses tools drawn from Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Premiere and Firefly to complete multi-step work. Adobe says creators have used the Creative Agent behind it since earlier this year for jobs such as batch portrait retouching (Adobe newsroom).

The November 10 announcement lists these additions:

Customization and preferences: set formats, colors, brand guidelines, characters and products once and apply them across every project.
Plan mode: review, edit and approve the agent’s plan before it starts, or let it run on its own.
Model selector: pick a model for a session, or leave it on Auto-Select so the agent chooses based on the output.
Firefly editors: brainstorm video stories or design concepts with the agent inside Firefly’s multimedia editors.
Firefly Boards: build mood boards, storyboards and concepts through conversation.
Always-on agents (preview): delegate recurring work, such as organizing incoming assets or preparing content for different channels, that keeps running in the background.

According to The Verge, Adobe has not given a date for always-on agents, but they will come to Firefly AI Assistant first.

Before and after the MAX 2026 update

Area	Before November 10	After the MAX 2026 update
Running a task	Assistant planned and executed from your prompt	Choose Auto (runs without approval) or Plan (approve first)
Model choice	Automatic selection across Firefly and partner models unless you named one	Customize toggle with Image and Video model lists, plus saved defaults
Brand context	Repeated in prompts or uploaded per project	Formats, colors, guidelines, characters and products saved once
Where it runs	Firefly	Firefly, Firefly Boards, Firefly Design and Firefly Graph
Background work	Not available	Always-on agents in preview, no release date

Surfaces are listed in Adobe’s Firefly AI Assistant FAQ.

How to use Plan mode and the model selector

Adobe’s help page on Auto and custom modes describes two controls: Agentic settings and Generative models.

Sign in to Adobe Firefly with your Adobe ID and select AI Assistant in the left panel.
Upload any assets or style references, or start with a prompt or a Creative Skill.
In the prompt field, select Auto. Under Agentic settings, choose Plan.
Under Generative models, turn on Customize, then use the Image and Video tabs to keep only the models you want.
Send the prompt. Review the plan, edit any steps, and approve it.
To keep your model choices for future sessions, open AI Assistant Settings, go to Preferences and save them.

Both prompt-field settings last only for the current session. Adobe’s example: to use only Firefly Image 5 for every image, uncheck All models in the Image tab of Preferences and then uncheck each other model. Plan mode lets you check the work before credits are spent.

Who can use it, and where

The FAQ says the beta is available to all users with a paid Creative Cloud plan, a subset of free Adobe accounts, and adults aged 18 or older. It is available but not optimized for enterprise all-apps subscribers and higher education.

It is not available in Adobe’s desktop or mobile apps, in K-12 education plans, or on some legacy enterprise plans (CCT Standard AA without SA, and CCE v3, Core and Pro AA/SA). Administrators can control access.

Separately, Adobe is bringing AI Assistant (beta) to Premiere, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects and Frame.io, focused on tasks within each app (Adobe blog).

Credits and limits

Account	What you get	When you run out
Free Adobe account (eligible subset)	Limited daily free generations	Subscribe, buy credits, or wait for the daily reset at midnight GMT
Paid Creative Cloud plan	Plan’s monthly AI credits; most AI actions use them	Upgrade, buy credits, or wait for the refresh on your billing date

Credit use varies by action. Hover over the credits icon after an action finishes to see what it cost. Adobe says the current rates are introductory and may change (FAQ).

Power-user workflows

Use skills as shortcuts. Skills are prebuilt multi-step workflows. Call one directly, for example /batch-edit-photos, or let the agent detect your intent. Say “without using a skill” to keep it on a plain path. Adobe’s product page lists Portrait Retouch, Social Media Assets and Mockup Studio among them.

Lock models for commercial work. The FAQ says Firefly model outputs are considered safe for commercial use, while you are responsible for judging partner model outputs. If that matters for a client job, restrict the Image and Video tabs to Firefly models in Preferences.

Mix partner models on purpose. Firefly offers models from Adobe, Topaz Labs, ByteDance, Google, Kling, OpenAI, ElevenLabs and others. Recent additions include Dreamina Seedance 2.5, Kling 4.0, GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst and Flare, and Nano Banana 2.1 (Adobe). For background on some of these, see our guides to ChatGPT Images 2.6, Seedream 5.5 and Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash.

Manage memory. Preferences are seen with every message. Memories are used only when relevant, and you can edit them in the Memory tab in Settings. In Firefly AI Assistant and Boards, change preferences only in Settings.

Build repeatable pipelines. Firefly Graph (beta) has a built-in AI Assistant for creating reusable workflows.

For other assistants, see Gemini app new features and Grok Imagine Image 2.0.

Limitations to know

The assistant is a beta. Adobe’s beta terms warn of bugs and possible data loss.
Creating custom skills is not supported yet.
Always-on agents are a preview with no announced date.
Local MCP integrations that let third-party agents work in Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects are coming to Creative Cloud customers in early 2027, not now (Adobe blog).
Of the new Firefly tools, only Edit Text, Retouch, Relight and Quick Actions are generally available. The rest are in beta.

FAQ

What is new in Firefly AI Assistant?

Adobe’s November 10, 2026 update adds Plan mode, a model selector with an Auto-Select option, saved preferences for formats, colors, brand guidelines, characters and products, the assistant inside Firefly Boards, deeper links to Firefly’s video and design editors, and a preview of always-on agents.

How do I turn on Plan mode in Firefly AI Assistant?

In the prompt field, select Auto, then choose Plan in the Agentic settings section. The assistant outlines its plan and waits for you to review, edit and approve it. The setting applies only to the current session.

Can I choose which AI model Firefly AI Assistant uses?

Yes. Select Auto in the prompt field and turn on the Customize toggle under Generative models, then pick models on the Image and Video tabs. To keep the choice for every session, save it in AI Assistant Settings under the Preferences tab.

Is Firefly AI Assistant free?

A subset of free Adobe accounts gets a limited number of daily free generations, which refresh at midnight GMT. On paid Creative Cloud plans, most AI actions use your monthly AI credits, and Adobe says the current credit rates are introductory and may change.

Does Adobe train on content I create with the assistant?

Adobe’s FAQ says your content is not and will not be used to train generative AI models, whichever model you choose. Outputs from Firefly models are described as safe for commercial use, while you must judge whether partner model outputs suit your project.

Firefly AI Assistant: Power-User Guide to Plan Mode, Model Selector and Credits

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