When Google launched its Gemini 2.5 Flash model - better known by its more fun codename Nano Banana - in August, it became a viral hit. Because of its ability to edit images using AI for free (or at a low cost if you're using it through the API), we wondered if it might spell bad news for Adobe, which sells competing image software. Data provided to Business Insider by Appfigures, an analytics company, reveals that as downloads of Gemini skyrocketed around the time of Nano Banana's release, downloads of Firefly, Adobe's generative AI image and video app, began to slump.
Just a few years ago, AI-generated video clips were a laughing stock on the internet -- anyone remember the nightmarish video of AI-generated Will Smith wolfing down spaghetti ? The technology has come a long way since then: Today, tech startups are competing to deliver generative AI tools which, at least in their vision of the future, aim to rival the quality of Hollywood production studios -- at a tiny fraction of the cost.