If you were reading through Twitter (always Twitter, never X) last week, you may have come across the storm stirred up from this article RIP Design Agency : The anti-design agency manifesto. While the title is clickbait mastery, the gist of his article is pretty straightforward:

All things being equal, the efficiencies that AI can bring to workflows will give the agencies that adopt it an advantage over those that do not.

This post taps into an underlying fear I have increasingly seen in the community, especially among younger creators, which is essentially “if I don’t adopt AI will I be left behind?”.

Like most other conversations around AI in the creative community, this conversation very quickly becomes polarized, shutting down any discussion. This post tries to cut through that and take a practical look at the question:

Do you have to use AI to be successful in the creative industry?

TLDR, no, but…

I understand there are strong passions and opinions around AI and creativity. I am going to try to take a dry, practical look at it, to provide a clear way to think about some of the implications of whether you choose to use AI in your creative workflow.

Note, I’m not here to convince you that AI can be useful within a creative workflow. If you don’t believe that, then the core question we are addressing should have already answered itself for you.

What do we mean by AI?

What exactly do we mean when we say “AI”? I wrote about this more extensively a couple of weeks ago, so I’ll summarize here.

In the creative community, the conversation around AI has focused heavily on generative AI. However, AI and its use and potential in the creative industry are much broader than that.

Assistive, Generative, and Agentic

For our purposes, we can classify AI into three main types, Generative, Agentic and Assistive.

Generative AI

Generative AI is AI that generates creative assets, including images, videos, and text. Examples include text-to-image and image-to-video generation from Adobe Firefly, or Generative Fill in Photoshop. This has been around for a couple of years now.

This is what most of the conversations around AI have revolved around within the community.

Agentic AI

Agentic AI is AI that can perform complex, multi-step tasks (often autonomously). For our purposes, this includes conversational interfaces for large language models, such as ChatGPT, or more task-focused agents, such as Google Gemini Deep Research. This has been around for a while, but has really come into prominence recently.

Assistive AI

Assistive AI is AI that performs specific, predetermined tasks, often with a predefined interface and scope (i.e. click a button). Examples include features such as Neural Filters, Select Subject, and Content-Aware fill in Photoshop. Originally built using machine learning, this technology has been around for nearly a decade.

Assistive AI is usually implemented similarly to other non-AI features within tooling, except that it’s backed by AI and/or machine learning. The conversation below includes this, but really focuses on the impact and concerns around Generative AI and Agentic AI.

Augment or Automate?

It’s also important to keep in mind that the impact that AI may have also depends on how it is used and implemented.

It can be built in a way that augments the user, which supports and extends existing creative capabilities, and complements and enhances the user’s role in executing the task. Select Subject in Photoshop and Generative Remove in Lightroom are good examples of this.

It can also be implemented in a way that automates a lot of the user’s tasks. It can replace existing tasks, often with minimal user involvement. In some scenarios, text-to-image generation can be an example of this.

So keep in mind that when we talk about AI, it is important to consider what type of AI it is, and how it is being used and implemented.

Where AI Can Deliver Efficiencies in the Creative Process

A lot of the discussion around AI and its benefits for creators revolves around how it can help creatives work faster and more efficiently. This conversation has heavily revolved around generative AI, which allows you to quickly create an image or composition. While I’ll ignore the fact that creative work rarely involves just “create an image”, AI can bring efficiencies to creative processes.

AI and Efficiencies in Creation

First, on the actual core creation task, I think there is no denying that assistive AI tools such as Select Subject in Photoshop have helped creators save time and have done so in a way that benefits creators.

Generative AI expands on this. Not only does it enable much more powerful editing features, such as Generative Fill in Photoshop, or Generative Remove in Lightroom, but it also allows creators to sometimes quickly generate the end piece. While it is true that generative models on their own don’t provide the same level of control and precision as when working with a tool like Photoshop, the results are often “good enough” for a lot of uses. And when they are not, the generated content can give a huge head start on the creative editing process.

To simplify, Generative AI can consistently get you to 80%, really fast. And that is often “good enough”. When you need to get to 100%, then you can take it into a tool like Photoshop, where you now have a huge head start to perfect the final 20%.

This lies at the heart of a lot of the concern and fear around generative AI. A lot of people are in the industry because they WANT to do the creation. They don’t want to get to 80% faster; they want to do the entire 100%. Furthermore, they are concerned (rightfully so), that making it easier for more people to get to “good enough”, means they will be in a more competitive environment (which is true).

Leveraging AI across the Entire Creative Process

If we take a step back and look at the creative process beyond just the act of creation, we can see that it is one part of a larger set of tasks that make up a broader creative workflow.

The exact list and order of tasks will depend on the specific deliverable and industry (design will be different than video), but let’s look at a typical workflow:

Anyone who has worked on a project with a client should be familiar with this, but even if you are creating for yourself, you are almost certainly going through multiple tasks.

The important point is that creation is only one part of the larger creative workflow.

This is where agentic AI really shows its promise. It can step in to help creators with tasks they don’t have expertise in. It can also help with the kinds of work they’d rather not spend time on. This can allow creators to work faster and to focus on the parts they care about most, or where they add the most value, such as the actual act of creating.

For example, creatives often use Agents / LLMs to brainstorm and explore ideas. The ability to quickly generate, chat, explore and iterate with an LLM can be really useful to hone in on where you want to focus.

Another example is using LLMs to help complement and get a jump start on research. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can be useful, but deep research tools such as Google Gemini Deep Research and Perplexity can save a ton of time.

Those are just a couple of simple examples of where Agentic AI can help accelerate tasks within a creative workflow without taking agency away from the creator for the actual creation.

But it is not just limited to Agentic AI. One of the most compelling uses of generative AI is as a tool to quickly explore, generate, and hone in on ideas. Tools like Adobe Firefly Boards are built specifically for this, making it easy to collect references and assets, and then generate, mix, and match to explore.

The main point of all of this is that you can use AI within a creative workflow without having to use it to do the actual creation.

The Challenge of Standing Out in a World with AI

There’s an old corporate proverb that for any project, you can have it cheap, you can have it good, or you can have it fast, but you can only have two. You have to make tradeoffs and prioritize across the three.

But maybe that is no longer the case with AI? Or, at a minimum, maybe AI gives you a little more space so the tradeoffs between the three are not so stark?

I believe that increasingly, the people and agencies who will stand out in a creative industry with AI will be characterized by three things:

1. Are Creative with deep domain expertise and mastery of their craft
2. Have obtained a mastery of professional editing tools
3. Know how to leverage AI across the entire creative workflow

This is simple economics. If you can provide high-quality work, cheaper and/or faster, you will be able to consistently outcompete other agencies and creators. This translates into time for more projects or larger, higher-quality projects at the same cost, both making it more likely that your work is noticed.

More high-quality work and lower prices mean:

1. Your services will be in more demand
2. You will have more opportunities to have your work noticed.

That is not to suggest you can ONLY be successful (however you define that) if you use AI. However, all things being equal, it does mean that knowing how to leverage AI in a thoughtful way to serve what you are trying to accomplish will give you an advantage over those who do not use it.

The Core Question

So, coming back to the original question (finally!). Do you have to use AI in the creative industry to be successful?

Well, that depends in part on why you are creating and what success means to you. But no, I do not think you HAVE to use AI to be successful within the creative industry. However, you will increasingly be competing against (very talented people) who are. On the whole, it will be more difficult to be successful without using AI.

Let’s break that down a bit by why you are creating and what success looks like.

Creating to Create

If you are creating just for the joy of the creation and the process and don’t care about recognition, then no, other people using AI doesn’t affect that (unless you get so annoyed with AI debates that you can’t focus and create).

Creating to Build a Market and Recognition

If you want to create and potentially sell your content, or you just want recognition, then, yes, it probably will impact you.

As it is easier for more people to create pretty-looking things with generative AI, you will have more competition for attention, particularly earlier in your career/skill development. That means it will be more difficult for your content to stand out, making it harder to get attention, recognition, and feedback. This loop of sharing, getting feedback and encouragement, leading to more creation and then sharing, may be more tenuous in a world with AI.

As you develop a mastery of your skills, this effect should be less pronounced, but the journey to that point will be characterized by much more competing content of similar quality.

Creating for Clients and Commerce

If you are creating because it’s a job for you and you have clients that are paying you for deliverables, where cost, time, and quality matter, then yes, it will impact you. You will be competing with agencies and other creators using AI who can get to 80% faster, and still deliver high-quality content faster and / or at lower costs.

As in the article that prompted this post, all things being equal, agencies / individuals that use AI will have efficiency advantages over those that do not.

Where Not Using AI Might Be an Advantage

It’s worth considering whether the ubiquity of AI output might make the craft of human-only-created work more valuable. As generative AI lowers the barrier to producing “good enough” work, specifically branding human-created work could provide a premium in the market, especially at the higher skill levels.

That may mean not using AI could help you differentiate as your skills deepen. Whether this creates more opportunity for new voices or simply allows established professionals to charge a premium remains an open question. What’s clear is that in an AI-saturated market, human itself could become a differentiator.

It’s Not The “Hacks” You Need To Be Worried About

It is important not to get caught up in the mindset that people who use AI for creative tasks are hacks and not creative. Sure, there are plenty of people like that, but that is not who you should be concerned about, and it is not who we are talking about. We are talking about super creative professionals who have mastered their tools and craft, and know how to leverage AI.

AI is not Going Away

AI isn’t going away, and pretending otherwise won’t change that. All things being equal, those who adopt AI will have advantages over those who do not. At its core, this is primarily an economic issue, and not one of technology.

The creators who thrive won’t be the ones who ignore it, nor the ones who blindly chase it, but those who take the time to understand where it helps and where it doesn’t.

This is particularly important the earlier you are in your career and growth as a creative. While you will have more competition at this stage of your career, you also have more time to learn and adjust. But it all starts with knowledge and understanding of the industry and technology in order to understand where you have control.

How do the students feel about AI? It’s mixed. Kelin has been surveying them every few weeks. About half raised their hands when asked if they were scared of AI. Some enrolled to “control it,” others out of pure curiosity. But something interesting happens when you give people hands-on experience with these tools: The mystery fades, replaced by a more nuanced understanding of their capabilities and limitations. Reimagining design education in the age of AI

You don’t have to use AI to succeed, but you will increasingly be competing with those who do. The more you know and understand, the more control you will have over your own outcome.

Further Reading

• Reimagining design education in the age of AI
• What Happens When Junior Jobs Disappear
• Rethinking how we think about AI in the Creative Community