Why Adobe is Welcoming Rival AI - Premiere's Aim to be the "Center of Video Production"

The structure of the video has been decided, and the narration has been recorded. However, a few seconds of footage for transitions and sound effects to convey the atmosphere of the scenes are still missing. In the editing process, such small deficiencies can extend the time to completion.

Searching for material sites, generating on another service, saving files, and returning to the editing software. Each time, the editor's focus shifts from the flow of the work to the transfer of files. Adobe's expansion of AI features in Premiere aims to reduce this back-and-forth.

An article published on the German financial information site aktiencheck on September 15, 2026, reported that Premiere Pro is adopting external AIs like Google Veo, Runway, and Luma. By combining external models with its own Firefly, Adobe is expanding its role as a production environment.

What emerges from this is Adobe's strategy, which is not just about competing in the performance of generative AI. Regardless of which company's AI is used, the goal is for Premiere to be chosen as the place to finish the work. The acceptance of external AI is seen as an important step towards this goal.

The place where materials are created is getting closer to the timeline

According to Adobe's official update, Premiere 26.5 in September 2026 includes a "Generative Media Tool." This feature allows for the generation of videos and sound effects from text instructions, adding them as editable clips to the sequence.

Previously, it was possible to import videos created with external services into Premiere. The change now is that this process is closer to the editing screen. Instead of treating generation as a separate process, it becomes easier to identify deficiencies during editing, supplement them on the spot, and make judgments in conjunction with preceding and following footage.

Consider a scenario where you are creating an image video for a fictional product. If you want abstract light movements for transitions, you can generate candidates, line them up, and check their compatibility with the music tempo and narration. In such use cases, generative AI becomes not only a "machine for creating images" but also a tool for testing editing options.

However, the description of "editable clips" does not mean that all elements such as people or backgrounds in the footage can be freely manipulated as layers. The ability to incorporate generated results and the ability to finely adjust their content as intended are separate evaluation criteria.

In the production field, what matters is not just the fact that generation was successful. Whether the direction of light matches the previous cut, whether it transitions smoothly to the next cut, and whether there is no excessive information on the screen. As the generation function gets closer to the timeline, these judgments within the overall work become more important.

Runway also moves inside the editing software

On the same day, September 8, 2026, Runway announced a plugin for Premiere Pro and After Effects. According to the official explanation, images and videos can be generated from a panel within the app and placed into sequences or compositions.

Runway also emphasizes eliminating the back-and-forth of exporting frames during editing, uploading them to a browser, downloading the completed material, and reloading it. In Premiere, the generated results can be placed at the playhead position and proceed directly to trimming.

Here, it is necessary to distinguish between Adobe's standard features and the dedicated plugin provided by Runway. Both allow the use of AI from the editing screen, but they are not the same function. The Runway plugin requires signing into a Runway account and using existing plans and credits.

Therefore, just because it can be used "within Premiere" does not mean everything can be utilized under an Adobe contract. Integration on the screen and integration of contracts and billing are separate. For production companies, practicality is judged by whose account is used and how the costs are managed for each project.

Why accepting external AI becomes a strength for Adobe

Adobe, which develops Firefly in-house, also provides space for external AI. At first glance, it may seem like handing over users to competitors, but considering the flow of production, a different aspect emerges.

In video production, the job is not over even if one piece of material is generated. Multiple cuts need to be connected, audio adjusted, color tones matched, subtitles added, correction instructions followed, and delivered in the specified format. The editing environment that handles these processes has a value distinct from standalone generative models.

Even if an external AI produces excellent results in a certain expression, if the material is finished in Premiere, Adobe can maintain contact with the production process. As competition among models intensifies, the value of an environment that can organize and use multiple options may increase.

This is a strategic perspective that can be read from the announcement content and does not mean Adobe's success is guaranteed. The abundance of options can also become a burden of choice. If the work of trying models for each use, investigating conditions, and comparing costs increases, the advantages of integration may diminish.

What is required of Adobe is not just listing model names but designing a process where editors can reach the desired results with short steps. What users want is not the AI selection screen itself, but deliverable videos.

Expectations on social media and the gap with the production field

How do editors perceive the expanding collaboration with external AI? On the public SNS Reddit, both expectations and cautious opinions about production using Adobe's generative AI have been posted.

The following is not a collection of reactions solely to this September's announcement but a summary of related discussions that have continued since before the announcement. It introduces individual posts that could be confirmed and does not represent a survey of the overall user consensus.

A poster named TedsLittleDream, who asked about sound creation, mentioned that for short or speed-demanding projects, generating sound with Firefly is faster and helps maintain workflow compared to searching for material collections. At the same time, they explained that they are still learning sound design.

On the other hand, in the same discussion, there were opinions that if existing materials suffice, AI should be used for special purposes not covered by existing material collections. Rather than fully adopting AI, the stance is to consider in which situations it is meaningful to use it.

The issue of cost and time was highlighted by another post by Jason_Levine, who claims to be related to Adobe. He shared his experience of consuming about 10,000 credits in about 5 hours while trying to generate images and videos. He evaluated that he obtained the desired results, but responses included questioning the use of time and calls for improvements to regular editing functions.

These numbers are an individual's trial example and do not represent the standard cost or time required for Premiere's new features. Nevertheless, they become a point of discussion showing that the ease of generation does not necessarily align with the overall efficiency of the work.

What can be read from these posts is that the evaluation of the same AI changes depending on its use. For those who want to expand their options, repetitive generation becomes valuable. For those pressed for deadlines, that repetition can become a burden. Adobe needs to address these differences in purpose.

The real cost is considered by "adoptable material"

When considering the cost of generative AI, looking only at the credits required for a single generation makes it difficult to capture the reality of production.

For example, even if it can be generated cheaply, if only one out of ten attempts is usable and further manual correction is needed, the final burden becomes significant. Conversely, even if the cost of a single generation is high, if the necessary material is obtained quickly and can be incorporated into the work as is, the overall efficiency of the project may be good. This is a hypothetical comparison and does not indicate the performance of a specific model.

What should be evaluated is how many usable materials were obtained after combining generation costs, time to compare candidates, and correction time.

The generation function within the timeline can reduce file transfer time. However, it does not automatically eliminate the time needed to judge whether the generated content fits the work.

Even in advertisements or SNS videos, the conditions differ between materials that convey the atmosphere of the background and those that accurately show the shape or usage results of the product. Even if the video looks good, if it deviates from the content that needs to be conveyed, it cannot be adopted. When measuring the effect of introduction, it is necessary to compare by aligning the types and purposes of the videos.

In this way, the value of having more options for external AI becomes clear. It is not about entrusting all generation to a single model but about being able to search for results that meet the conditions of the project. However, the judgment of how much time and budget to spend on that search also becomes part of the production process.

Questions about monetization remain despite strong financial results

The original article also covers Adobe's third-quarter financial results for fiscal year 2026, along with its product strategy. Revenue was $6.76 billion, up 13% year-over-year, with adjusted earnings per share of $6.13. These figures match the earnings reports confirmed separately.

However, it is not possible to link the company's overall revenue growth to the results of the newly announced Premiere's external AI collaboration. The past performance shown in the financial results and the effects that new features will bring in the future are on different timelines.

In considering corporate value, the focus is not only on the increase in users trying AI but also on whether that use leads to continuous payments. Whether editors end with just trying the new features once or incorporate them into their daily production makes a big difference.

If supported as an environment for handling external models, there are more reasons to continue using Adobe's services. On the other hand, if the generation costs do not fit the project's budget or if traditional methods are faster, usage may become limited. Before convenience translates into sales, there is the adoption decision at the field level.

The value of an editor is reflected in the judgment of what to keep

As generative AI becomes more involved in material creation, the work of editors also changes. While part of the task of preparing materials may become lighter, the judgment of selecting appropriate ones from candidates and making them work as a piece remains necessary.

The beauty of the footage and the necessity for the story are not the same. Even an eye-catching cut requires the judgment to be discarded if it blurs the focus of the explanation. As the number of generable materials increases, the power to decide what not to keep in the work also becomes meaningful.

The opening of external AI in Premiere can be seen as a move to expand the editing software into a production hub that accommodates multiple generation technologies. What determines its success is not just the number of AIs incorporated. It is whether editors can maintain focus, foresee costs, respond to corrections, and reach the necessary quality.

Beyond the surprise of "what can be generated," there is the question of "how reliably can this work be brought closer to completion." Adobe's next evaluation will be accumulated on the daily timeline.

Source URL

1. aktiencheck/Börse Global (September 15, 2026): Introduction of Premiere's external AI strategy and Adobe's financial results.
   https://www.aktiencheck.de/news/Artikel-Adobe_Aktie_Premiere_Pro_oeffnet_sich_fuer_Drittanbieter_KI-20093937

2. Adobe Official Help: Confirmation of Premiere 26.5's Generative Media Tool in September 2026 and the function to add generated videos and sound effects as editable clips.
   https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere/desktop/whats-new/whats-new.html

3. Runway Official Announcement (September 8, 2026): Plugin for Premiere Pro/After Effects, generation and placement within the editing screen, use of Runway accounts and credits.
   https://runway.com/news/company-news/runway-for-adobe

4. Reddit "Beginner Editor: When Should You Use AI Sound Design vs Sound Libraries?": Individual posts regarding the convenience of sound creation with Firefly and the differentiation from existing sound materials. Not a direct response to this September's announcement.
   https://www.reddit.com/r/premiere/comments/1s5hbmk/beginner_editor_when_should_you_use_ai_sound/

5. Reddit "Generating Lots of Images/Video for a Project; I Burned Thru 10k Credits in 5hrs": An Adobe-related poster's generation experience and responses regarding time, practicality, and improvements to existing functions. Not a standard cost document, nor a direct response to this September's announcement.
   https://www.reddit.com/r/premiere/comments/1qpiop7/generating_lots_of_imagesvideo_for_a_project_i/

6. The Wall Street Journal (September 10, 2026): Earnings report on Adobe's third-quarter sales, year-over-year growth rate, and adjusted earnings per share for fiscal year 2026.
   https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/adobe-hits-1-billion-monthly-active-users-raises-full-year-outlook-b4e45b83