If they somehow pull off this audacious move, they would essentially undermine the very firms that crafted the tools aiding their success. It’s a strategy that seems to defy logic, seemingly born out of a hasty, panicked reaction rather than a clear understanding of the AI landscape.

The game of text-to-image generation isn’t a fad. It’s poised to become a common feature in our operating systems, much like spellcheck. It has already found its way into content creation platforms like Canva, Photoshop, Google Adwords, and soon into social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. Even WordPress will join the party in a future release. Essentially, the need to visit a separate platform for image creation will soon become obsolete. It’ll be right there, where you are. So, how much sense does it make for stock photo agencies to build more text-to-image generators?

If these stock photo agencies intend to compete with generative AI, they need to think smarter, not harder. Their strength lies in the wealth of existing content they possess. Instead of trying to churn out more generated images, why not provide tools that make it a breeze for users to customize this existing content?

a 1970 computer printing a stack of polaroid type of images

We don’t need another photo creation tool.

Users crave inspiration, not a blank canvas. Nor do they wish to engage in a time-consuming tug of war with a machine that struggles to understand their prompts. But, the idea of initiating a keyword search, picking a captivating image, and effortlessly tweaking the background, mood, or time of day to suit their needs? Now that’s a proposition with some serious appeal.

Stock photo agencies take note. It’s time to reevaluate your strategy. Focus less on building more text-to-image generators ( it’s a self-defeating proposition) and more on refining the gold mine of content you already own. By improving the user experience and facilitating easy customization, you might just stand a chance in this AI-dominated landscape.

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