87 Percent of Creators Who Use Creative AI Say It Is Growing Their Business and Audience, According to Adobe's 2026 Creators' Toolkit Report

87 Percent of Creators Who Use Creative AI Say It Is Growing Their Business and Audience, According to Adobe's 2026 Creators' Toolkit Report

Brie Clayton June 16, 2026

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Above image courtesy Deposit Photos.

Among those creators, 75 percent describe creative AI as integrated or essential to their workflow

While creators are optimistic about agentic AI for creative work, 85 percent say the final creative decision should always remain theirs

The second iteration of the global survey of more than 16,000 creators explores how creative AI is shaping the creator economy, from helping creators grow their businesses and stand out in a crowded landscape to building audience trust and defining expectations for the next generation of AI tools

Today, Adobe - the global technology leader that empowers creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences through innovative tools and platforms - released its 2026 Creators' Toolkit Report, which found that of the creators who use creative AI 87% say it has accelerated the growth of their business or audience, while 75% describe it as integrated or essential to how they work. These findings underscore how creative AI has become a core part of today's creator economy.

Based on the survey results of more than 16,000 creators across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, India and Australia, the report details how creators are using creative AI to grow their businesses, amplify their creativity and stand out in an increasingly competitive content landscape. Building on last year's inaugural report, which found creative AI adoption was accelerating amongst creators, the 2026 edition shows creative AI has become essential creative infrastructure for many creators, helping them grow audiences, compete more effectively and unlock new opportunities.

As AI-assisted content becomes more widespread, the qualities that help creators stand out - point of view, judgment and taste - are becoming more valuable. In a world where use of AI tools is becoming the norm, the creators who break through are the ones with something distinctive to say.

Adobe's latest Creators' Toolkit Report shows creative AI is opening new opportunities for creators and transforming how creative work gets done, but voice, taste and judgment remain what set great creators apart, said Mike Polner, vice president and head of product marketing for creators at Adobe. Eighty-seven percent of creators say creative AI has accelerated the growth of their business and follower base. As creative AI becomes more widely adopted, the creators who stand out will be those who use it to amplify their unique point of view. At Adobe, we're building pro-grade tools that make the power of creative AI accessible to every type of creator while keeping creative decisions firmly in their hands.

Adobe's Creators' Toolkit Report captures the fact that creative AI's value goes beyond simply helping us produce more content, said Sophia Kianni, creator and founder of Phia. When I'm using Adobe Firefly to brainstorm ideas, accelerate creative workflows and streamline production tasks, one of the biggest benefits is the time it gives me back. It helps me refine my workflow so I can focus my energy where it's needed most - on storytelling, creative direction and the work that drives growth.

KEY FINDINGS Creative AI Has Become Core to Creator Workflows and How They Grow Their Businesses Creative AI has crossed a threshold. Among creators who use or have tried it, creative AI is no longer a side experiment.

87% say it has accelerated the growth of their business or follower base.

63% say creative AI has made them feel more confident as a creator, more professional in their creative work or more serious about their creative work.

75% describe creative AI as integrated or essential to how they work.

Nearly half (48%) say creative AI makes them feel more secure about their future as a creator, while 40 percent say AI-assisted content consistently performs better.

As Creative AI Becomes More Widely Adopted, Creator Voice Becomes More Valuable When everyone can produce more, and output becomes easier, the advantage shifts from volume of output to voice, taste and point of view.

Among creators who say it's harder to stand out today than a year ago, 53% point to sheer content volume as the culprit, while 42% say AI-generated content is making it harder for unique voices to stand out.

And yet 58% say their ability to compete with larger teams or studios feels stronger since using creative AI, suggesting the creators gaining ground are the ones who've figured out how to make AI reflect their voice.

As more creators use creative AI in their work, 85% believe that the work they create with AI still reflects their unique voice.

81% say human judgment remains essential to creative taste.

Creative AI Helps Creators Move Faster, But Human Refinement Makes the Work Ready 93% of creators say creative AI helps them produce content faster, but speed is only part of the story. Creative AI accelerates the start, but human taste and judgement determines what gets published.

Faster-to-draft is not the same as ready-to-publish: 57% say their creative AI outputs typically require moderate or extensive editing before they're ready to share.

Even so, creative AI is delivering additional value beyond efficiency: 35% say it gives them more freedom to experiment before pitching ideas and 33% say it gives them the confidence to pursue more ambitious ideas and projects..

Era of Agentic Creativity: Creators Want AI Agents That Make Space for More Creative Thinking Agentic AI - systems that can orchestrate and execute multi-step tasks- is what creators are looking to next, and they have a clear view of what tha

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