Which platforms create the best AI images for B2B marketers? We tested 3 to find out
By 2025, 90% of content online is going to be produced with the help of AI, according to the latest Europol Innovation Lab. Just let that sink in. Let it percolate around your brain like a strong coffee on a cold Monday morning. There are so many AI tools available that 90% might even be a conservative estimate.
If used correctly, AI can help to speed up processes, removing a degree of labour-intensive work which frees the creatives to consider other avenues of exploration before they then add the secret ingredient to whatever the AI has produced. Their own knowledge, skills and thoughts. AI is many things, but it’s not human. And that’s what produces the magic.
But when using AI, it is important to remember that not all AI is created equal. This means that you can use the same prompt in different AI programs and receive very different outputs. There is no ‘one-stop shop’, no master AI platform that delivers exactly what we want, each and every time. And it’s because of this that we are increasingly allocating certain AI applications to do certain jobs.
So, to explore that idea, we’re pitting the top three image generating platforms against each other – Midjourney, DALL·E and Adobe Firefly – in a battle royale (no Hulk Hogan in sight) to find out which is best. We take the same prompt and use it across each platform, with the goal to compare the various different outputs.
Moodboards
The results are quite varied each time but, in fairness, all do the job reasonably well. We feel Midjourney typically seems to lay the images out the most artistically, which is why that’s our go-to AI for this output.
Winner: Midjourney
PowerPoint slides
Look, it’s a prompt featuring a unicorn so any AI software worth its salt should be able to produce this. And they’re all fab. But, DALL·E typically seems to be able to recreate what we had in mind the quickest. That and Firefly doesn’t seem to be able to quite do faces just yet…
Winner: DALL·E
Scamping
Midjourney does the best for us when scamping, mainly because the others overcomplicate things. Scamps are there to help bring a scene or idea to life, not to depict what the actual end output would look like.
Winner: Midjourney
Stock images
We all have to use stock images, but the trick is to use the ones that feel the least like stock images. Because of that, we think Midjourney is the best at recreating people — and creating a better realistic output.
Winner: Midjourney
Visual execution inspiration
So subjective, this one, especially if you like cats. Most folk in the office preferred Midjourney’s output, but lots equally liked Firefly. There were even a few votes for DALL·E.
Winner: Midjourney
What’s your favourite AI tool?
AI is here to stay, but we as an agency need to make sure we use it in a way that isn’t detracting from the incredible creative talent that’s out there in the world. AI can help us, but it’s not producing the work for us. What it does do is open up a different line of thinking, and it can bring to life an idea quickly in a way that allows us to pitch it, before we then refine that idea with the human touch.
As you use AI more and more, consider what value you’re getting from it. Which AI program suits you and the job at hand best? Let us know what you think and how you use AI – what works best for you?