Adobe Stock opens to labelled AI illustrations

Adobe Stock announced on 5 December that it is accepting illustrations made with generative AI. Contributors must disclose how the images were made, bringing generated artwork into the marketplace under a specific submission policy.

Adobe says contributors can earn royalties under its existing guidelines, and accepted content uses the same licensing terms as other Stock assets. It also says the usual moderation policies still apply. Acceptance is therefore conditional, rather than an automatic route from a generated image to a sale.

Illustrations, including photorealistic images

The guidelines published that day require generated images to be submitted as illustrations even when they resemble photographs. Contributors must identify generative AI in titles and keywords, hold the necessary licensing rights and check the terms of the generation tools they use.

For people, the policy distinguishes two cases: an identifiable real person requires a model release; a generated person not based on someone real requires a property release confirming rights in the content. The guidelines also exclude generated work from the Illustrative Editorial Collection.

Disclosure does not settle ownership

Adobe’s announcement says third-party content, including prompts referring to people, property or an artist’s style, requires proper authorization. These are the company’s submission conditions, not a legal determination that any particular image is cleared for commercial use.

For buyers, a label explains how an asset was produced. Whether an image meets a project’s factual, creative and legal requirements still calls for a separate assessment.

Illustration: Sulat. Logo: Adobe. Independent editorial illustration; no endorsement implied.