How to package an older version of Creative Cloud Desktop to avoid the AI Assistant Beta?

Forum|Forum|6 days ago
September 10, 2026
3 replies
60 views

Hello,

Following the release of Creative Cloud Desktop 6.10 and the "Limited Beta of AI Assistant integration", we are facing a issue. For security and compliance reasons, we cannot deploy features that are still in Beta.

Currently, when we create deployment packages using any versions of Adobe applications, they still include the latest version of the Creative Cloud Desktop app by default.

Is there a way to force the packaging of an older version of the Creative Cloud Desktop app while the AI Assistant remains in Beta?

Alternatively, what options exist for enterprise administrators to disable or block this Beta feature completely?

Thank you.

S

Shark6969Author

Participant

Hi,

Thank you very much for your quick response.

We have the Enterprise plan with licenses distributed across all of the computers.

The goal was to disable Beta features in Adobe applications that include them, as well as the AI assistant (for example, Photoshop has included Beta features, Illustrator has an AI assistant, Captivate, etc.).

Alternatively, we want to install stable versions that do not include Beta processes.

T

Tariq Ahmad Dar

Community Manager

Hi @Shark6969,

Thank you for confirming you're on an Enterprise plan, that helps narrow this down to the right controls.

Two separate settings are involved here, and it's worth confirming which one applies to your deployment.

The first is decided when the package itself is built. On the Choose apps screen in Admin Console, apps are selected individually, and a Beta apps filter is available there to surface separately labeled beta builds, like Illustrator (Beta) or InDesign (Beta), alongside the standard version. Using the Latest versions or Long-term supported versions filters instead ensures only standard, non-beta app entries are included in what you package and deploy. Could you confirm which filter was applied and whether any beta labeled app was selected when the package was built?

The second is a self-service setting that applies after deployment, shown as Install of Beta Apps in your package configuration (recorded internally as Beta App Download). When enabled, users can independently browse and install additional beta apps through the Creative Cloud desktop app beyond what was in the original package. Setting this to Disabled the next time you build or update your package closes that gap going forward.

One scope clarification worth noting: these two controls govern which apps and app versions are included in your deployment, they are not a feature toggle within an individual app. Feature availability inside a given app, including AI Assistant, is tied to the app version itself, so confirming the app version deployed through your package is the most direct way to establish what's present for your users. Feature sets update as Adobe ships new versions, and pinning to Long-term supported versions where available is the most reliable way to control this over time.

On Captivate: it packages differently from Creative Cloud apps. Adobe's packaging documentation notes that Captivate and Presenter use the separate Adobe Templates workflow rather than the standard package builder, so it's worth confirming whether Captivate is already being deployed through that path.

Let us know which filter was applied when the package was built and whether Beta App Download is currently enabled or disabled, and we can confirm the exact next step.

~Tariq

T

Tariq Ahmad Dar

Community Manager

Hello @Shark6969,

Thank you for the detail, and thanks for reaching out.

Two separate questions here, so worth answering both directly.

Packaging an older Creative Cloud Desktop app version isn't possible today. Packaging lets you pin base versions for individual apps like Photoshop or Illustrator, but the Creative Cloud Desktop app itself isn't controlled through packaging the same way, and it isn't managed through AUSST either. There's no option in the Admin Console on any plan to select or freeze the Creative Cloud Desktop app at versions below 6.10 while still deploying current app versions.

Could you confirm whether you're on a Creative Cloud for Teams or Enterprise plan? I will check internally about Ai Assistant Beta, before i could suggest anything on that.

However, on the AI Assistant integration: this is an Acrobat feature, not part of the Creative Cloud Desktop app shell. Admin Console packaging, whether you're building a Managed package, Self-service package, or Acrobat-only package, doesn't expose any Acrobat-specific preferences during creation, only platform, language, app, and plugin selection, and update management options. So this has to be handled outside the package, and there are two ways to do it:

To disable it now, independent of your existing package: per Adobe's Turn off generative AI features in Acrobat, set the DWORD value bEnableGentech to 0 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown on Windows (a plist equivalent exists for macOS). Since you're already deploying through Intune, this can go out as a configuration profile or remediation script alongside your current package
To bake it into the installer itself at deployment time: run the Acrobat MSI through the Acrobat Customization Wizard, set the same Generative AI preference there, and save the project. This produces an MST transform file that applies the setting from first install onward, deployable with the Acrobat installer via msiexec /a AcroPro.msi TRANSFORMS="AcroPro.mst"

Either method disables the feature organization-wide without needing to change which Creative Cloud Desktop version gets packaged.

Let us know which approach you go with and whether it resolves the issue on your end.

~Tariq

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