Adobe Systems Incorporated has come under fire from its user base following a controversial update to its frequently asked questions (FAQ) section in June 2024. The company revised its wording to assert the right to “access,” “view,” and “analyze” users’ content using artificial intelligence tools. This change has raised alarms among users who fear that their creative outputs may be used to train Adobe’s generative AI models, despite the company’s assurances to the contrary.
Market Dominance and User Frustration
In mid-2024, Adobe revealed that it stood at close to 33 million paying subscribers to its Creative Cloud suite. This staggering statistic provides Adobe an estimated 80% market share in the industry for creative software. This security blanket of a governing monopoly has failed to prevent the company from coming under public fire. Many users have expressed their frustration with Adobe’s recent subscription policies. Gradually, these policies have transformed into a monthly ongoing cloud-based subscription model. Today users are often left feeling cornered into subscriptions they’ve lost the desire or ability to maintain. This issue has been raised in an Adobe-related DOJ complaint filed in 2023, which alleges that Adobe has violated certain regulations.
Adobe’s recent post advertising its services on Bluesky—a rapidly growing, X (formerly Twitter) -like platform—was met with intense criticism. After incurring user backlash over the significance of its FAQ revision, Adobe took down the post. Responses from the users revealed their anger over the company’s pricing plan. As one incensed subscriber put it, “You all continue to go up in price for a product that only gets worse. One other user voiced concerns that there will be new charges to view Adobe’s content. To which their leadership replied, “I’m pretty sure you mean you’ll be paying monthly to access our blog posts.
Quality and Pricing Concerns
The company has been in the doghouse with users several times this past year, but especially for their handling of subscription rules. Critics say Adobe’s pricing and quality of service have continued to deteriorate. This drop in quality has prompted some of the company’s users to question whether the company continues to focus on client happiness. You’re no longer a monopoly,” wrote one user. Change or die, Adobe, Change, or die Requiring you all to change, Capitalism.
Despite these criticisms, Adobe maintains a stronghold on sectors reliant on creative software, which raises questions about the company’s future strategies and its engagement with users. The artificial creative tools landscape is rapidly shifting. To continue to be the leader in infrastructure software, Adobe will need to be responsive to users’ needs and rethink its go-to-market strategy.
What The Author Thinks
Adobe’s failure to address its customers’ concerns over pricing, quality, and AI use of creative content is pushing it into a precarious position. While its dominance in the industry is secure for now, ongoing backlash and user dissatisfaction could ultimately drive users to seek alternatives. The company must rethink its strategy to avoid further alienating its loyal customer base.
Featured image credit: Politico
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