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mikesouhoka
mikesouhoka
Participant
May 24, 2026
Question

Suggestion to change the Illustrator "AI" file type or extension to the new kind of file type

  • May 24, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 66 views

Hi! I have been working with Adobe apps for years, and I think it is the time for Adobe Illustrator to change the “AI” file type to the new kind of type or extension.

The reason is, the term “AI” is mostly related to the Artificial Intelligence technologies which are widely used today including Adobe apps today, but the problem is, we often found the misunderstanding since both “Artificial Intelligence” and “Adobe Illustrator” have similar abbreviations.

I have the experience where I submitted my PDF file saved from Illustrator artwork to the client, and the client asks me, “What type of format you are using?” I used to say “AI” which refer to the Illustrator app, but now, everything changes. The client feel a lack of trust to me and tought that I am the using the instant AI (Artificial Intelligence) tool to make a vector artwork. It is hard for me to convince them that the artwork is pure build with my own work without AI online thing.

You see, not all client understand the technical terms, they just know the result and what did I do with it. Even I know that the PDF file has the document information to see what app the PDF file was built, but most client don’t care about that. The time has change, not like in the past years when I say “AI” then everything is okay, but now saying “AI” can be quite confusing, and there is nothing I can do but have to say the full name of the app, “Adobe Illustrator”.

But still, I think it is the time for this file type “AI” for Illustrator needs to be changed to avoid misconduct with Artificial Intelligence term. Right now some Office apps have change their file types, like DOC to DOCX, XLS to XLSX, PPT to PPTX and so on. And I think Illustrator should change the “AI” file type into something that has three letters, like AIL, AIT, AIX, AII (double i), whatever. I wish for Adobe to consider this, and I hope in the newer version of Illustrator, Adobe has made a new format with the new kind of file type, but still has the ability to open and edit the older AI files. Thanks.

    2 replies

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 26, 2026

    And the term “out of gamut” will leave the client with a blank look on their faces.

    B
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 25, 2026

    I do not agree. The Adobe Illustrator .AI file type dates back almost 40 years. Aside from the file format being native to Illustrator the .AI format is also a commonly used data exchange format for a variety of other graphics applications. Replacing the .AI format with something else will break work flows for a lot of people. It's already challenging enough just dealing with the quirks of moving assets from one graphics application environment to another. Replacing the .AI file type extension would just open another can of worms.

     

    Also, I think anyone with at least some modicum of computer graphic design experience would understand the difference between the artificial intelligence AI acronym versus that of the .AI file type of Adobe Illustrator. I do not think Adobe should be making major changes to Illustrator for the sake of accommodating newbie users.

      Bill Silbert
      Community Expert
      Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      May 25, 2026

      I can see both sides of this debate. I spent many years dealing with clients and colleagues who had no real knowledge of what those of us who actually produce the work do—and how we do it. Trying to explain the mechanics of the computer graphics process can be wildly frustrating! For instance, have you ever tried to explain to somebody with only a limited knowledge of computer art why the artwork they gave you as “hi res” becomes “low res” when you enlarge it? In the case of “AI” I can see a future where paranoia against the machine reigns and people become terrified by the name of a native Illustrator file based on its suffix! On the other hand, I absolutely see Bobby Henderson’s point that trying to change an established naming convention will without doubt cause far more trouble than it may be worth. Having just gone through the month’s long process of changing my email address I can report that something that has been firmly established throughout the internet is difficult to the extreme to change. As a matter of fact it’s a nightmare! On balance, I think that probably the best solution to this is not to actually change the suffix of Illustrator files but rather to just refer to the files as Illustrator files and quickly change the subject. I’m not being flippant with that. I’ve found that dealing with clients and colleagues is mostly about how you present it. If you are clever in your presentation then it is very possible to forestall dissent.

      B
      Community Expert
      Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      May 25, 2026

      I've had lots of headaches regarding client-provided artwork. Now the situation seems more complicated than ever.

       

      We're still having to explain to clients the basic difference between pixel-based images and vector-based artwork. This is often via clients not understanding why we can't just grab a low res PNG file of their logo from their web site or a JPEG file from their Facebook page and use that for design and production. The SVG format has been fully supported by all the major web browsers for at least the past several years. Still, PNG and JPEG dominate for displaying company logos online.

       

      CANVA is another headache. Client artwork made in that app is often a hodge-podge combination of pixel-based elements and maybe some vector-based stuff. If I need a purely vector-based version of the Canva-related artwork I often have to re-build it. If I'm lucky an exported PDF will have type and some other elements retained as vectors. The Vector First Aid plugin for Illustrator can clean up some of the mess in the exported PDF file.

       

      Funny thing: people who want to D-I-Y their own company logos or other graphics have more cheap/free resources for doing so than ever before. Inkscape has been around for a long time. Canva recently bought Serif and combined Affinity Designer, Photo and Publisher into a single app that’s now free to use. The Affinity App still pales in comparison to Adobe’s apps, but it’s a lot better than nothing. Yet it still seems like a tough sell to get casual users to bypass Canva and use Designer instead for making their logo/graphic.

       

      Artificial Intelligence, aka "AI", is now the latest headache. A growing amount of artwork we receive from clients is generated using various AI bots. None of that stuff is production ready. Not only is all of the imagery pixel-based, but it's often marred with AI-related glitches and "hallucinations" that have to be corrected during the re-building process. Any lettering is usually a vague amalgamation of multiple typefaces. If the client is attached to that lettering than that will be yet another element that has to be re-built in vector form.

       

      I think we can agree there is a growing backlash against AI. Many Americans view the technology with suspicion -that's it's really a tool for eliminating many millions of jobs. People are outraged by data centers spiking utility bill costs for anyone living nearby. Executives of these AI firms have done themselves no favors with their public statements regarding the impacts of AI agents. Vague lip service about people retraining for "new opportunities" does zero to ease anyone's concerns.

       

      The brand power of "AI" is certainly tarnished. On the other hand, graphics apps like Illustrator usually have the suffix in their files hidden by default settings in both MacOSX and Windows operating systems. I'll often use the term "Illustrator files" when telling a client one of the vector graphics file types we can accept. More seasoned graphics workers will know the difference between an Illustrator .AI file versus artificial intelligence AI.

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