ENVATO RELEASES FIRST GLOBAL “BEYOND ADOPTION: THE STATE OF AI IN CREATIVE WORK 2026” REPORT, REVEALING HOW CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS ARE NAVIGATING INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION
The new survey reveals that 50% of creative pros have significantly increased their AI use over the last six months, yet 69% feel unprepared – exposing critical gaps in industry readiness
MELBOURNE, Australia, Nov. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHAT: Envato – a leading creative tech platform empowering millions of creatives worldwide with AI-powered tools and digital assets – releases its inaugural Beyond Adoption: The State of AI in Creative Work 2026 report. Based on a survey of 1,780 global creatives and interviews with AI creative leaders, the report explores shifting behaviors and sentiments towards gen AI, adoption patterns, emerging trends, and actionable insights shaping the creative industry’s AI transformation.
WHEN: November 11, 2025
WHY IT MATTERS: Nearly half of all respondents (49%) use AI daily for client work, with 50% using it significantly more than they did just six months ago in ways that have fundamentally reshaped their workflows. Despite this rapid integration, nearly three in four (69%) creatives don't feel fully prepared for an AI-driven creative industry – revealing a critical gap between adoption and mastery. The creative industry grapples with fundamental questions around professional identity, pricing structures, and transparency that adoption alone cannot resolve.
KEY FINDINGS:
The Generational Paradox: High Usage, Varied Confidence – Gen Z leads daily AI adoption at 54%, but confidence tells a different story. Only a third (37%) of Gen Z creatives feel "very prepared" for an AI-driven future, dropping to 30% for Millennials and 28% for Gen X. The real pressure isn't about resistance, but instead business models. Older professionals face the most pressure on client pricing, with 29% of Gen X creatives citing "clients assuming AI makes everything faster and cheaper" – compared to just 18% of Gen Z.
Western Markets Navigate the "Burden of Proof" – A stark global divide has emerged. The majority of creatives in Asia (54% daily use) and the Middle East & Africa (53%) integrate AI faster, invest differently and feel more confident than their US (44%) and UK (40%) counterparts. Western creatives face six times more pressure to prove human creativity value alongside AI: 62% in the UK and 49% in the US, compared to just 8% in Asia and 11% in Middle East & Africa.
Solopreneur vs. Agency Reality: Perception Meets Practice – The industry assumes freelancers lead the AI charge, but agency and studio owners actually use AI more on a daily basis (58% vs. 48% of freelancers) and accelerate faster (56% report a significant increase vs. 50% of freelancers). Agency and studio owners also invest more heavily, with nearly a quarter (22%) planning to spend between $500 and $2,000 over the next six months. The difference: agency and studio owners treat AI as business infrastructure, quietly integrating it to gain a competitive advantage.
The Transparency Divide: AI's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Moment – Nearly three in five (58%) creative professionals use AI without client disclosure, treating it as part of their digital toolkit. The disclosure gap varies significantly: Gen X creatives are the most transparent by demographic (38%), while agency and studio owners are the least transparent by business model (28%). Meanwhile, clients send mixed signals: nearly half (45%) sometimes request AI for speed or budget reasons, while demand for human-only output rises, specifically in the US and UK.
Discipline Disruption: Speed vs. Craft – AI adoption splits sharply by discipline. Web developers (65%), marketers (60%), content creators (58%) and 3D artists (58%) lead daily use, while graphic designers/illustrators and motion graphic designers/videographers trail at 40%. Preparedness mirrors this split, with nearly half (43%) of marketers feeling "very prepared" compared to just a quarter (26%) of graphic and motion designers. As AI achieves technical perfection, authenticity and a distinct human style become the new creative premium.
New Roles Emerge – Survey respondents independently predict the rise of entirely new job categories, including:
- AI Creative Directors who bridge human intent and machine execution
- Prompt Engineers who translate ideas into precise AI language
- AI Curators who elevate outputs from generic to exceptional
- AI Governance Specialists who ensure AI use is responsible, legal, and aligned with a company's values
Meanwhile, AI enables “one-person studios” to become more viable and compete with traditional agencies on output and speed.
QUOTE: "This report captures what we're hearing from our creative community: AI adoption is moving faster than AI literacy,” said Hichame Assi, CEO at Envato. “The gap between enthusiasm and preparedness is where real opportunity exists. Our role is to provide the clarity and thoughtfully designed tools creatives need to navigate this transformation with both speed and integrity."
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: The full report features exclusive interviews from AI educator and visual creator Ohneis (@ohneis652), hybrid live-action and AI production studio founder Rupert Cresswell (@prospex_park), and AI video creator James Gerde (@gerdegotit), plus actionable playbooks tailored for freelancers, agencies/studios, and in-house creative teams.
DOWNLOAD: The Beyond Adoption: The State of AI in Creative Work 2026 report is exclusively available at https://elements.envato.com/lp/ai-trend-report-beyond-adoption.
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ABOUT ENVATO:
A global leader in creative technology since 2006, Envato (owned by Shutterstock) empowers millions of creative professionals with access to the broadest range of AI-powered tools and commercial-ready digital assets. Envato’s growing stack of AI tools – VideoGen, ImageGen, ImageEdit, VoiceGen, MusicGen, MockupGen and GraphicsGen – is powered by the world’s best models with under-the-hood, automatic selection based on prompts, removing the technical complexity so creatives can focus on creating. The platform also provides 25+ million high-quality, human-curated assets across stock video, audio, graphics, photos, 3D, fonts, and templates. Envato offers flexible subscription plans for individuals, teams, and enterprises, delivering a comprehensive creative workflow solution that combines best-in-class gen AI with professional-grade resources for every creative project.
Contact Info
Imani Goldman
imani.goldman@envato.com
+61 3 9018 3034
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Beyond Adoption: The State of AI in Creative Work 2026 report key visual
Beyond Adoption: The State of AI in Creative Work 2026 report key visual
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