Picking the best AI image generator for your small business
There is a lot of bleeding edge technology to keep up with today, and it’s hard to know when there is news you can use. For small businesses looking for ways to improve efficiency in their creative and marketing efforts, the dawn of Generation AI has brought a lot of buzz and a dizzying number of new tools.
One big way small businesses and entrepreneurs are innovating how they approach creative and marketing work is by using an AI image generator. As if from thin air, a simple text prompt can create endless possibilities for dazzling imagery to use in unique posters, banners, newsletters, email campaigns, social media posts, and more.
Sifting through the best options for your AI image generator needs can be confusing, however, so let's break down the basics of how to pick the very best AI image generator for your goals.
Summary/Overview
Knowing when an AI image generator is the smart business move
AI image generators can be a smart investment for various types of businesses and entrepreneurs. Whether you're a social media marketer, e-commerce store owner, or all-around content creator, utilizing AI image generators free up small business owners to push the visual boundaries of their creative and marketing efforts, and pioneer game-changing efficiencies in production workflow. Let's take a closer look at some key benefits:
Free up time
By automating the image creation process, AI image generators allow you to focus on other critical tasks. You can generate high-quality visuals quickly and efficiently, eliminating the need for manual image editing and design.
Save money
Bringing on professional graphic designers and sifting through expensive stock imagery can be costly for small businesses. AI image generators provide a cost-effective alternative, enabling you to create visually appealing and commercial-level content without breaking the bank.
Reimagine workflow
AI image generators have introduced new ways of working by simplifying and accelerating the image creation process. Using text-to-image prompts, along with ready-to-use templates, customizable styles, and advanced editing options, you can experiment with different visual ideas and find the perfect fit for your business or brand.
Do your small business visual marketing efforts require:
- A high volume of imagery for brainstorming?
- Brand-consistent designs and graphics within a single theme or style?
- Short notice and quick turnaround graphic design needs?
If so, then AI image generators could be a game-changing addition to your small business toolbox, no matter if you’re a graphic designer, an architect, content maker, or product marketer.
Reinventing marketing workflow with AI image generators
If the brain-bending possibilities of AI image generators blow your mind, what it can do for your productivity and workflow may wow you even more. These approaches for streamlining your creative and marketing processes are a great place to start, but the applications and innovations that you can bring to your small business might be infinite.
Streamline your content strategy
AI image generators can assist content creators, bloggers, and social media managers in composing eye-catching visuals to accompany their articles, blog posts, or social media updates. By automating the image design process, you can quickly produce engaging visuals that resonate with your audience and make a memorable impact.
Product mockups on tap
For e-commerce businesses, showcasing products effectively is crucial. AI image generators can help create stunning product mockups and contextual backgrounds, enabling you to present your merchandise in a visually appealing and professional manner. This can lead to increased sales and customer engagement.
A brainstorm with a view
Creative agencies, marketing, and architectural design firms can leverage AI image generators to brainstorm ideas and concepts for their client. By rapidly articulating ideas via text prompts to bring to life visual ideas at a rapid pace, you can explore different styles, ideas, and vibes while making contextual edits to your vision on the fly by updating those prompts.
Choosing the right AI image generator for your small business
Choosing the right AI image generator for your small business requires careful consideration of what are brand new and never-before-seen tools and products that felt more like science fiction mere months ago. Some visual AI tools offer a wide range of features, such as customizable templates, advanced editing options, and seamless integration with other software or platforms you use in your business operations.
When you are reviewing options, give some thought to the following:
- Features and integration: Look for a tool that offers a wide range of features, such as customizable templates, advanced editing options, and integration with other software or platforms you already use.
- Ease of use: Opt for an AI image generator with a user-friendly interface and intuitive controls. This will ensure that you and your team can quickly adapt to the tool and start creating images efficiently.
- Pricing and cost: Evaluate the pricing plans and subscription models offered by different AI image generators. Consider your budget and the value provided by the tool to make an informed decision.
The latest and greatest in AI image generators
Artificial intelligence and AI image generators are incredibly new technologies, and it's important to recognize that not all tools are created equal when it comes to AI image generation — what may work well for one small business may not be ideal for another. A variety of AI image generators are now available, each with their own strengths and features.
This innovative space moves fast, and it’s wise to keep up with how the AI landscape, and its tools and applications, evolve in the near future. These are a selection of some popular design and image tools making use of innovations in AI image generation:
Canva: Canva offers a user-friendly platform with a wide range of templates and design options. It is suitable for businesses looking for a beginner-friendly AI image generator with basic to intermediate features.
Fotor: Fotor provides comprehensive editing tools and AI-powered features, making it a versatile choice for small businesses. It offers both free and paid options, allowing users to access advanced features with a subscription.
Pixlr: Pixlr is a cloud-based photo-editing platform that incorporates AI technology. It provides powerful editing capabilities and is suitable for businesses that require advanced image editing alongside AI-powered image generation.
Adobe Express: With Adobe Express, powered by Firefly, Adobe’s new visual AI, you can use everyday language to generate extraordinary new content. It is trained on a vast collection of professional-grade, licensed images from Adobe Stock, ensuring the generated images are safe to use in commercial settings.
Create incredible content with Adobe Express, powered by Firefly
Unlike other generative AI tools, Adobe Firefly is the most differentiated generative AI service available today, designed to generate images that are safe to use in commercial settings — free from copyrighted materials like popular characters and branded content.
Firefly is trained on hundreds of millions of professional-grade, licensed images in Adobe Stock — among the highest quality licensed images available to marketers and creatives — along with openly licensed and public domain content where a copyright has expired. Use simple text prompts in over 100 languages to make beautiful images, transform text, play with color, and so much more.
Enterprise businesses will be able to use their own creative collateral to train Firefly to generate content in an organization or company’s own brand language. From there, just post to your social channels directly from Adobe Express — wham, bam, complete marketing synergy, easy as pie. It can take just minutes to bring your creative vision from idea to design to done, and your creative production workflow will never be the same.
And there is so much more on the horizon. We’re exploring generating custom vectors, brushes, and textures from text prompts, altering the weather in a video with a few words, or turning simple 3D designs into photorealistic images and quickly creating new styles and variations. We’re exploring all of these possibilities and more.
Unlock your imagination with Firefly, and experiment, imagine, and create an infinite range of images with generative AI-powered content creation from Adobe.