Today’s Question: Is there an option to run the AI steps [in Adobe applications] locally without requiring an internet connection?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Some (but not all) of the AI-based features in Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, and other Adobe applications do require an internet connection. For the features that provide an option for local processing, choosing that option will generally result in faster processing, but with results that likely won’t be as good as with cloud-based processing.
More Detail: Whether or not an internet connection is required to use an AI-based feature differs among software applications. For example, in Lightroom Classic the generative AI option for the Remove tool as well as the Distraction Removal feature both require an internet connection. If you’re not connected to the internet, you won’t be able to use these features until you’re back online.
In Photoshop while the generative AI features such as Generative Fill and Generative expand do require an internet connection, there are some AI features that don’t require an internet connection. For example, you can choose to have the Remove Background feature process locally rather than in the cloud. This option can be selected using the “Select Subject and Remove Background” popup on the Image Processing tab of the Preferences dialog. Choose “Device (Quicker Results)” if you want to be able to work offline with this feature.
Some features that leverage AI in Photoshop don’t leverage an internet connection at all, however. These include Sky Replacement, the Object Selection tool, and Neural Filters, among others.
So, the case is a bit mixed, but the generative AI features do require an internet connection, while other AI-based features often include an option to process locally or don’t require an internet connection at all.
