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Fabrizio Giuffrida
Inspiring
September 7, 2025
Question

AI edit status shows old heal and clone as AI remove

  • September 7, 2025
  • 5 replies
  • 364 views

RAW files I edited years ago with old heal and clone tools are considered as AI remove edits by the AI edit status tool. This behaviour, that I suppose being a bug, makes it unclear if AI has been used in the editing of a specific RAW file, while I think we should all be aware of what technologies we are using and when. Also, this is relevant because if we use Content Credentials, some photos will be marked as using AI while they are not. This behaviour is common to Camera Raw 17.5 and Lightroom Classic 14.5.1, I do not know about cloud-based Lightroom as I don't use it. I would like Adobe to state very clearly what technologies are being used in all the object-removing tools, and correct this AI edit status tool behaviour if it is a bug. Thanks in advance

    5 replies

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    woodrow_1799
    Participant
    September 11, 2025

    You’re raising an important point. The current behavior where older edits made with traditional heal or clone tools are being flagged as “AI remove edits” does create confusion, especially when accuracy and transparency about AI usage matter for workflows and Content Credentials. If this is a bug, it should be clarified and corrected so that only edits truly involving AI-powered tools are marked as such. At the same time, Adobe should clearly outline which specific tools rely on AI and which do not, so users can understand exactly what technologies are being applied to their files.

      F
      Fabrizio GiuffridaAuthor
      Inspiring
      September 8, 2025

      Yesterday I noticed this behaviour on an old RAW file which I knew it only had Heal tool edits and no AI Remove nor Generative AI tools edits. The AI edit status tool was, and still is, showing that the file contains AI Remove edits. Today I tried with a new unedited RAW file and the behaviour is the same: I only applied one Heal tool edit and immediately the AI edit status icon changed to white; upon clicking on it, it says the image has AI Remove edits. This also happens in Camera Raw. It also happens with jpg files. The RAW and xmp files can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1k15NHg5PLa-bd2WyxL884F1GO6FGCBOr?usp=drive_link
      I am also attaching the xmp file to this message.
      I am using: Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.5074, Lightroom Classic 14.5.1, Camera Raw 17.5.

      johnrellis
      johnrellis
      Legend
      September 7, 2025

      I'm not observing that misbehavior for the Clone and Heal tools.  To make this an actionable bug report, please share a photo with its edits that gets incorrectly identified by the "Has AI Remove" filter.  Select the photo, do Metadata > Save Metadata To File, upload it to Wetransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive or similar free service and post the sharing link here.   Also share the .xmp sidecar either via the sharing service or attaching it here.

       

      Without an easily reproducible test case, Adobe will almost certainly ignore this.

      JohanElzenga
      Community Expert
      JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 7, 2025

      The Clone and Heal tools do not use AI. The regular Remove tool does not use generative AI, but it does use AI. Many people forget this distinction.

       

      -- Johan W. Elzenga
      F
      Fabrizio GiuffridaAuthor
      Inspiring
      September 8, 2025

      This is what I knew too, this is why the behaviour I observed puzzles me.

      johnrellis
      johnrellis
      Legend
      September 8, 2025

      [This post contains formatting and embedded images that don't appear in email. View the post in your Web browser.]

       

      Now I understand what you're seeing:

       

      I agree that message is misleading and not well-written (LR has long had a reputation for imprecise terminology). It should really say:

       

      "The following tools have been used on this photo that may affect the proper rendering of AI edits"

       

      For example, when you apply Heal on top of a Sky mask, the AI Edit Status menu correctly shows:

       

      Despite the wording of that message, elsewhere LR shows that it does not consider Healing to be an AI Remove:

       

      When LR exports a photo with Content Credentials, it correctly records the presence of Healing. For example, when that photo has just two settings, Exposure = -1.37 and the application of Healing, the exported content credentials contain:

      [JUMBF] Actions Parameters Com Adobe Acr: Exposure2012, Healing, Healing
[JUMBF] Actions Parameters Com Adobe Acr Value: -137, Changed Healing, Changed Healing

       

      I doubt Adobe will consider the misleading message a "bug".

      F
      Fabrizio GiuffridaAuthor
      Inspiring
      September 7, 2025

      RAW files I edited years ago with old heal and clone tools are considered as AI remove edits by the AI edit status tool. This behaviour, that I suppose being a bug, makes it unclear if AI has been used in the editing of a specific RAW file, while I think we should all be aware of what technologies we are using and when. Also, this is relevant because if we use Content Credentials, some photos will be marked as using AI while they are not. This behaviour is common to Camera Raw 17.5 and Lightroom Classic 14.5.1, I do not know about cloud-based Lightroom as I don't use it. I would like Adobe to state very clearly what technologies are being used in all the object-removing tools, and correct this AI edit status tool behaviour if it is a bug. Thanks in advance

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