Generative AI Replaces Core Visual Production
#1Midjourney v6 (released December 2023), Adobe Firefly 3 (2024), DALL-E 3, and Stable Diffusion XL have crossed a commercial quality threshold where outputs are indistinguishable from mid-level professional visual production in controlled conditions. Major agencies including WPP (OpenAI partnership), Publicis (CoreAI platform), and Omnicom (Flywheel) have formally integrated generative AI into creative production pipelines, publicly stating intent to reduce production headcount while maintaining output volume. Stock image revenue at Shutterstock and Getty has declined materially as AI-generated imagery is sold alongside or instead of commissioned photography and illustration.