AI-Assisted Tools in Photoshop

In this post, you’ll learn about Photoshop’s AI-assisted tools. These features that don’t generate entire images from text, but help you do parts of an editing workflow more efficiently. These tools help you perform complex editing tasks such as selecting subjects, removing unwanted objects, or intelligently filling backgrounds quicker and accurately. As you use them, keep in mind that AI is a tool, not a replacement. Your creative judgment still guides how you combine and refine the results.

Device vs Cloud Processing: Choosing Your Mode

Many AI-assisted tools offer a choice between device (just using your computer) processing and cloud (Adobe data center) processing.

• Device mode processes AI features on your own computer, which can be slower or less precise, but reduces reliance on internet and data centers.
• Cloud mode typically produces more accurate, polished results (especially for complex edges or textures) but requires internet access and involves sending data to Adobe’s servers (Adobe claims not to store user image data permanently).

Preference Setting: 

• Open Image Processing
  • [macOS] Go to Photoshop > Settings > Image Processing
  • [Windows] Go to Edit > Preferences > Image Processing

The Image Processing settings will open and you have the following choices:

• For  Select Subject and Remove Background, Toggle Device or Cloud

You can also choose whether to use Faster or More Stable processing for

• Selections Processing
• Remove Tool Processing
• Enhance Detail Processing

Faster uses less energy and processing power.

Why this matters: the choice of device vs cloud allows you to choose when you are using generative AI for some tasks and gives you some control over benefits and risks such as the need for large data centers, energy use, privacy, or dependence on internet.

When possible, test both modes so you can see differences for yourself.

Some tools do not have an option to process locally.

List of AI-Assisted Tools

Below is a bulleted list of key AI-assisted tools available in Photoshop (non full-prompt generation). Each includes what it does and whether local/cloud processing is available.

Select Subject (Sky, Focus Area, Background)

• What it does: Automatically detects and selects the main subject in your image.
• Local / Cloud: Configurable (Local or Device).
• Access: When a Layer is selected, available in the Quick Actions panel by clicking the Select Subject button
  • You can also choose Select → Subject from the main menu. This is also how you can select sky or focus area:
    • Select → Sky: uses AI to determine what is sky and selects that
    • Select → Focus Area: automatically selects the in-focus areas of the image. Works best on images with narrow focal range (shallow depth of field).

NOTE: to select the background, you can

1. Select → Subject
2. then with the subject still selected,
3. Select → Inverse

Select Subject + Mask

Very often, if you are using select subject, you want to remove everything else. To do that you can use a mask after you select the subject.

1. Select → Subject
2. then with the subject still selected,
3. Click on the Mask icon (white rectangle with black dot in the middle)

Remember that you can modify the mask after you create it. Masks are non-destructive and editable.

Remove Background

• What it does: Creates a layer mask to remove the background from a photo automatically.
• Local / Cloud: Configurable (Local or Device).
• Access: When a Layer is selected, available in the Quick Actions panel by clicking the Remove Background button

Content-Aware Fill

• What it does: Removes unwanted objects or fills selected areas by sampling nearby pixels and blending them seamlessly.
• Local / Cloud: Local (algorithmic, not generative).
• Access: Requires an active selection. Go to Edit → Content-Aware Fill… or right-click a selection and choose Fill → Content-Aware.

Remove Tool

• What it does: Brush-based AI tool that removes objects as you paint over them. Photoshop fills in the surrounding area automatically.
• Local / Cloud: Cloud only.
• Access: Available in the Toolbar (nested under the Healing Brush tools). You normally have to click and hold on the Spot Healing Brush to select it.

Generative Fill

• What it does: Uses Generative AI to add, remove, or replace parts of an image based on a text prompt.
• Local / Cloud: Cloud only.
• Access: Requires an active selection. Appears in the Contextual Task Bar or via Edit → Generative Fill.

NOTE: There are two ways to use Generative Fill.

• Unprompted fill
• Prompted fill

Unprompted fill: use this If you want to extend an image to change its aspect ratio (like making the image taller than it is). Prompted fill: use this to add an element to the image (like putting a hot air baloon in the sky).

At this stage in our work, we will use use the Unprompted Fill method.

Steps to use Unprompted Fill:

1. Adjust your canvas or the image so that there is empty space in which to add the generation.
2. Choose a selection tool. Rectangual marquee is easiest for changing image dimensions. Then, make a selection that includes some of the existing image and some of the empty space.
3. Click Generative Fill in the Contextual task bar.
4. Do NOT enter a prompt
5. Click generate

Generative Expand

• What it does: Extends the canvas and generates new content in the expanded area to match the existing image.
• Local / Cloud: Cloud only.
• Access: Use the Crop Tool, drag the canvas larger, then choose Generative Expand in the contextual bar.

Note

When using this tool, you are changing the entire canvas size. If you just want to expand a single layer of the image without changing the canvas size, use the Generative Fill method shown above.

Harmonize

• What it does: Uses generative AI to automatically match the color, lighting, tone, and overall atmosphere of a selected layer to the surrounding image, helping composites look more realistic and visually cohesive. A new layer will be created that has the original layer plus additional pixels added by AI to harmonize with the background.
• Local / Cloud: Cloud only
• Access: Select the layer you want to blend into the scene. In the Contextual Task Bar (or Properties panel), choose Harmonize. Photoshop generates adjusted variations that match the surrounding environment.

Notes

• Do you selecting and masking before you Harmonize.
• Harmonize makes a new layer. You may want to hide the original layer.
• Because Harmonize adds pixels to the image you usually can not reposition the Harmonized layer without it looking wierd. To reposition, delete the harmonized layer, then move the original layer and harmonize again. 

Neural Filters

• What it does: Applies AI-based effects such as style transfer, skin smoothing, colorization, or depth blur.
• Local / Cloud: Depends on the filter (some run locally, others require cloud processing).
• Access: Filter → Neural Filters from the main menu opens the filter library panel.

Note that not all neural filters are pre-installed. Some of them require download and installation before you can use them. This is relateively simple and the interface will direct you on what to do.

The types of Neural filters are:

• Portraits
• Creative
• Color
• Photography
• Restoration