- The workflow is the feature, not the model. No export, no upload, no download, no re-import. You mark a range and the result lands on that range as an editable clip.
- Nine models in my build — Firefly Video, two Veo 3.1 variants, five Luma Ray models and Runway Gen-4.5 — all billed through Adobe credits.
- The arithmetic is the catch. Veo 3.1 at 1080p costs 200 credits for 4 seconds. A base Creative Cloud plan’s 2,000 monthly credits is about 40 seconds of it, before a single reroll.
- Only one model is labelled commercially safe, and it is not the one producing the best pictures.
- Worth it if generation is occasional. If generation is the work, a dedicated platform still gives you far more video per peso.
What actually shipped
The Generative Media Tool arrived with Adobe’s IBC 2026 release on 8 September. Generate Video is shipped and out of beta. Generate Music and Generate Soundscape are still in beta, and on the evidence of my own tests and other people’s, the soundscape side is not there yet.
Mechanically it is very simple, which I think is the point. You pick the Generative Media Tool from the Tools panel, drag across the range of your timeline where the shot should go, and a generative task bar opens with a prompt field. You choose a model, set resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate and duration, optionally attach reference frames, and press Generate. The clip arrives on the timeline trimmed to the range you marked.
Two details matter more than they look. First, the generated clip inherits your sequence settings, so a 9:16 vlog sequence gives you a 1080×1920 clip at 24p without you thinking about it. Second, everything is kept: generations land in a Generation history bin in the project panel, with a Generated video folder and a separate Image references folder, and you can reopen any past generation to see its prompt and references and run it again. Anyone who has lost track of which of forty downloads was the good one will understand why that matters.
I want to be careful not to oversell the model quality here, because I do not think that is the story. The story is that the export → upload → wait → download → re-import → conform loop is gone. On a normal week that loop costs me more time than the generation itself ever did.
Adobe Care · Official
Adobe’s own walkthrough, if you want the vendor’s version of the same workflow. Watch on YouTube →
The model list, and the two words that matter
Open the model menu and it splits into two groups. This is the list exactly as it appeared in my build:
| Group | Adobe’s own label | Models |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe models | “Commercially safe” | Firefly Video |
| Partner models | “Models created by others” | Veo 3.1 Fast, Veo 3.1, Ray2, Ray3, Ray3 HDR, Ray3.14, Ray3.14 HDR, Runway Gen-4.5 |
Adobe’s own announcement also lists Kling. It had not appeared in my model menu, so I cannot tell you how it performs — it may be rolling out, or region-dependent.
Those two headings are the most important thing on this page for anyone doing client work. Adobe puts “Commercially safe” under its own model and, under the partner models, the notably flatter “Models created by others”. That is not an accident of copywriting. If a client contract requires indemnification for the material you deliver, the useful model list is one model long — and independent testing generally puts Firefly Video behind Veo 3.1 on picture quality.
I would love to see Seedance 2.5 in that partner list. It is the model I reach for most outside Premiere — I use it for micro-drama work and short AI films, and its character consistency across shots is the reason I keep going back to it. Right now that means generating in one place, exporting, and bringing the clips into Premiere by hand: exactly the round trip this tool was built to remove. Adding it would close the last gap in my own workflow. Not a complaint about what shipped — just the one thing on my wish list.
Partner models for personal work, spec pieces and anything going on my own channels. Firefly for anything with a client’s name on the invoice, unless they have told me in writing that they are comfortable otherwise. I would rather have that conversation before the edit than after delivery.
What it really costs
Adobe shows the price before you commit, which I appreciate — the task bar reads “Uses n credits” next to the Generate button and updates as you change model, resolution and duration. These are the numbers I saw:
So Veo 3.1 runs at 50 credits a second, Veo 3.1 Fast at roughly 18, and Firefly at 20. A base Creative Cloud plan includes 2,000 generative credits a month, and top-up credits cost somewhere between $4 and $5 per thousand depending on the size of the pack.
Put those together and the picture gets sharp very quickly. Two thousand credits is five 8-second Veo 3.1 clips. Forty seconds of generated video a month — if every single generation is a keeper.
I am not going to pretend I prompt perfectly. On the temple drone shot in the video above I was several attempts in before the camera move settled down and stopped drifting through geometry it should not have. Three or four tries for one usable shot is a normal day for me, and I suspect for most people. Four attempts at 8 seconds of Veo 3.1 is 1,600 credits — four fifths of a month’s included allowance, for one shot.
The number I actually care about is cost per finished minute, because that is the number that goes on a rate card. Assuming $4.50 per thousand credits and a realistic four generations per usable second:
| Model | Credits / sec | Cost / generated sec | Cost / finished minute at 4× |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 | 50 | $0.23 | ~$54 |
| Firefly Video | 20 | $0.09 | ~$22 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | ~18 | $0.08 | ~$19 |
For a five-second establishing shot that saves a location scout, $5 of credits is nothing. For a two-minute sequence built entirely from generated footage, you are looking at a hundred dollars or more in credits before you have cut anything — and that is a line item you need to have quoted for.
Explore on Veo 3.1 Fast or Firefly, where a mistake costs 140 credits instead of 400. Once the framing, the move and the prompt are locked, spend the expensive model once. I wasted credits learning that the slow way, so you do not have to.
What I actually used it for
My honest use so far is narrow, and I think that is the realistic case rather than a limitation. Cutting a Japan vlog, I needed an aerial of Katsuo-ji temple that I never shot. Drag the range, describe the shot, pull the previous frame in as a reference so the grade and the light roughly match, generate. It cut in.
The reference-frame handling is the part I did not expect to like as much as I do. You can pull the First frame of your selected range, the previous or next frame in the timeline, a sample, or an image from your device, and stack up to three of them. Using a frame of your own footage as the reference is what keeps generated inserts from looking like they were pasted in from a different film. For a transition you set both a first and a last frame and let it invent the middle.
Where I would not use it: anything that needs a real person a viewer might recognise, any product a client sells, and anything where the shot is the point rather than the connective tissue. It is very good glue. It is not yet a substitute for going out and shooting.
Against a dedicated platform
The fair comparison is not Premiere against Runway’s website. It is Premiere against the way a lot of us have actually been working: a generation platform in one window, the NLE in the other. I have been using Higgsfield for that, so here is the honest side-by-side.
| Premiere Generative Media Tool | Higgsfield | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Your timeline | A browser tab |
| Entry cost | Included with CC, 2,000 credits/mo | Free 10/day; Starter $15; Plus $49; Ultra $129 |
| Veo per 8s clip | ~$1.80 in top-up credits | ~$2.84 on Plus; less on Ultra annual |
| Generated video included | ~40 sec/mo of Veo 3.1 | ~2 min 15 of Veo 3 on Plus ($49) |
| Model choice | 9 in my build | Broader, and faster to add new ones |
| Control | Prompt, references, duration, ratio | Presets, camera moves, deeper parameters |
| Round trip | None | None with their Premiere plugin; otherwise export and conform |
| Commercial safety | Stated for Firefly only | Read each model’s own terms |
One thing worth knowing before you pick a side: Higgsfield now ships its own plugin for Premiere Pro and After Effects, so the round trip is not exclusively Adobe’s to remove any more. It installs as a desktop app, signs in with your existing Higgsfield account, runs on the same Higgsfield credits as the web platform, and drops generations straight onto the timeline — plus reframing, background removal, upscaling and inpainting. It needs Premiere 2025 or newer. If you are already paying for Higgsfield credits, that is a genuinely different way to arrive at the same place.
Higgsfield · Premiere plugin
The Higgsfield plugin running inside Premiere — walkthrough by Aaron Randall. Watch on YouTube →
Per clip, Adobe is actually the cheaper way to run Veo — that surprised me. What Adobe is not competitive on is included volume: $49 at Higgsfield buys roughly three times the generated seconds that a base Creative Cloud allowance does, and their cheaper Fast models and unlimited-ish tiers widen that further if you are generating all day.
If generation is a few shots inside an edit, Premiere wins, and it is not close — the round trip costs more than the credit difference ever will. If generation is the deliverable, a platform is still the right tool, and you bring the results into Premiere to cut.
Where Resolve and Media Composer sit
Worth saying plainly, because it is the clearest gap in the category right now: neither of the other two generates footage in your timeline.
DaVinci Resolve’s AI runs locally and costs nothing per use, which over a year is a real financial advantage — but it analyses, tracks, cleans and cuts your existing footage rather than inventing new footage. Blackmagic’s bet is that you own the compute. Avid’s AI is deliberately narrower again, aimed at preparation: transcript-driven multicam, content prep, getting a large project ready for a room full of editors.
So the three are not really competing on the same axis. Adobe rents you a generation you could not otherwise have. Blackmagic sells you processing you own outright. Avid sells you the infrastructure to run a big job with other people. If you want the longer version of that argument I wrote it up in the three-way comparison, and the individual reviews go deeper on each: Resolve 21, Media Composer 2026.8 and Premiere 26.
So — is it worth it?
Yes, if generation is occasional and you are already paying for Creative Cloud. The included 2,000 credits a month is enough for a handful of establishing shots, plates and transitions, which for most edits is exactly what generated footage should be. You are not paying anything extra to have it there, and the removal of the round trip is a genuine, everyday time saving.
No, if generation is the product. Building whole sequences out of generated shots on Adobe credits gets expensive fast, and a dedicated platform gives you more models, more control and several times the volume for the same money. Generate there, cut here.
The commercial-safety split is the thing to sort out before it bites you. One model carries the label, and it is not the strongest one. Get your client’s position in writing before you build a deliverable on a partner model.
What I would tell a working editor: turn it on, keep it for glue shots, explore on the Fast models, and put generated footage on your quote as a separate line. Treat the credit meter the way you treat a stock licence — a real cost with a real number, not a free feature.
FAQ
Does the Generative Media Tool cost extra?
The tool itself is included with Premiere, but every generation spends Adobe generative credits. A base Creative Cloud plan includes 2,000 a month; top-ups run roughly $4 to $5 per thousand. Since a 4-second Veo 3.1 clip at 1080p showed 200 credits in my task bar, the included allowance is about 40 seconds of that model per month.
Which AI models are available?
In my build: Firefly Video under “Adobe models”, and Veo 3.1 Fast, Veo 3.1, Ray2, Ray3, Ray3 HDR, Ray3.14, Ray3.14 HDR and Runway Gen-4.5 under “Partner models”. Adobe’s announcement also mentions Kling, which had not shown up for me.
Is the footage safe to use in client work?
Adobe labels only Firefly Video “Commercially safe”. The partner models sit under “Models created by others” with no equivalent claim. If your client needs indemnification, that narrows the list to one model until they tell you otherwise in writing.
Do I need my own Runway, Luma or Google account?
No — partner models are billed through Adobe credits inside Premiere. The flip side is that an existing subscription you already pay for elsewhere will not reduce what a generation costs you here.
Can I use my own footage as a reference?
Yes, and it is the most useful part. You can pull the first frame of the range, the previous or next frame, a sample, or an image from your device, and stack up to three references. Set a first and last frame and it will generate the transition between them.
Is it available in After Effects?
Not the Generative Media Tool. After Effects got the AI Assistant in public beta in the same release.
Does it work offline?
No. Generation runs in the cloud, so you need a connection and your prompt and reference frames are sent to Adobe and the model provider.
Related reading
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Sources
- Generative Media Tool overview — Adobe
- Generate media with the Generative Media Tool — Adobe
- Generate and create directly in your timeline — Adobe Blog
- Adobe embeds competing AI video models in Premiere — TechTimes
- Higgsfield plugins for Premiere Pro and After Effects — Higgsfield
- Higgsfield AI pricing, plans and credits — vo3ai
Credit figures are what the generative task bar showed on my machine in September 2026 and what Adobe has published; Adobe can change them. The cost-per-finished-minute column assumes $4.50 per thousand credits and four generations per usable second, which is my hit rate, not a guarantee of yours.