Adobe adds planning mode and preview of always-on recurring-task agents to Firefly AI Assistant

Adobe is previewing always-on agents in Firefly AI Assistant that can take on recurring tasks, alongside an updated assistant that carries out multi-step jobs behind a new planning mode. The company announced the changes on November 10, 2026, at its Max conference in Miami, according to Engadget.

Planning mode and model choice

When a user gives the updated Firefly AI Assistant a job, planning mode lets them review and edit the agent's proposed workflow before approving it. Users can select a specific model to orchestrate the tasks or leave that decision to Adobe's software. Adobe did not name the models available for selection.

Users also get more control over customization. They can now define colors and brand guidelines that apply across projects the assistant handles.

Always-on agents in preview

Adobe is previewing always-on agents for recurring tasks. In a demo shared with Engadget, a user prompted Firefly AI Assistant to sort through footage as it was uploaded to a project. The assistant offered to:

• organize the raw files
• automatically apply LUTs
• clean up audio
• back up the files

The user approved the plan in the new planning mode. The user then asked the assistant to prepare a social media promotion campaign for the project.

Engadget notes that the move follows Anthropic and OpenAI in proactive agents.

Premiere mobile agent and MCP connections

Adobe is also bringing a new agent to the Premiere mobile app, which debuted on iOS last year and later arrived on Android. The agent is designed to help users make edits with natural language. It launches first in private preview, with a broader rollout to follow. No date was given.

Adobe is also testing a new set of MCP connections. They would give a user's preferred chatbot local access to Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects, so the chatbot can do things like edit layers.

Pricing and general availability dates were not stated.

Adobe's positioning

Engadget's Igor Bonifacic asked whether Adobe's end goal is to bypass the creatives who have long been its customers, pointing out that far more people might want to use Photoshop and Premiere capabilities than are skilled with them. In one demo, Zorana Gee, Adobe's senior director of agentic product, described how entrepreneurs could use Firefly AI Assistant to create social posts for their small business.

"Ultimately, we're a creative company serving creatives," Gee said. "Depending on where you are on that continuum is where we will meet you, but ultimately it's about how do we allow anybody to hone their craft."

Asked about Artcraft, a free Adobe alternative made possible by the growing sophistication of coding models from Anthropic and OpenAI, Gee said she felt the "professionalism, security and reliability" of Adobe's products would keep users invested in its ecosystem.

What this means

Planning mode puts a human approval step between a request and execution. In the footage demo, the user signed off on file organization, LUTs, audio cleanup and backup before the agent acted. That is the control point Adobe is relying on as assistants move from single prompts to multi-step work.

The recurring-task agents and the Premiere mobile agent are both in preview, so none of this is generally available yet. The MCP connections are still being tested. If they ship, they would let chatbots outside Adobe's own assistant reach Creative Cloud apps locally.

Gee's comments show Adobe pitching the assistant at users beyond trained creatives, while arguing that reliability and security, not just capability, separate its tools from free alternatives like Artcraft.