AI generative tool major slow down

Forum|Forum|28 days ago
May 27, 2026
4 replies
76 views

Hi there!

I'm using the latest version of Lightroom on M3 Max MacBook Pro with macOS 26.5. AI generative remove tool all of a sudden started taking several minutes when it used to take seconds to clean up background for the exactly same gallery of photos.

My setup: MacBook Pro M3 Max, 36 GB RAM macOS 26.5 (Tahoe); Lightroom (cloud) — currently on latest version; Internet: 500 Mbps download / 70 Mbps upload; External Extreme SSD for photo storage (connected via fast port).

I've tried: reinstalling Lightroom, rolling back to older versions (9.1, 9.2 and older), updating macOS, installing latest version of Lightroom, verifying full GPU acceleration is enabled, moving photos to a new external SSD, forgetting offline volumes, pausing sync, and clearing cache. Nothing fixed it.

Activity Monitor findings during a slow AI edit: Lightroom CPU usage: 2-7%; Lightroom GPU usage: ~5%; System idle: 93% ; Memory Pressure: green, 20 GB of 36 GB used; Swap: 0 bytes.

My theory is that Mac is essentially sitting idle while waiting for Adobe's servers to respond. My hardware has enough of available resources during these slow edits. Does this point to a server-side issue with Generative Remove, or is there something else I'm missing? I contacted Adobe support and we had a remote session, during which customer support rep kept on telling me that this is "normal AI behavior" without investigating further. How come it’s normal when it used to work 10 times faster?

Has anyone else experienced this recently on M-series Macs? Any tips would be hugely appreciated — this is making my work very difficult.

VuongPham

Participant

It’s loading so long.

It take up to 5 min for one generation, that was taking 5 seconds before

Sameer K

Community Manager

Hey, @VuongPham. Thanks for adding the comment. The original issue @Karina Biskop pointed out is related to Lightroom Desktop on MacOS, and your screenshot shows Lightroom Classic, on Windows.

I'll help you figure this out. Please share the system info from Lightroom Classic from Help > System info > Copy and paste into a text document > Upload and attach here.

Where do you keep your Lightroom Classic catalog?

For @Karina Biskop, Has this started after recent updates to the OS? Please update to Lightroom 9.4 available via the Creative Cloud desktop app.

Also, try moving the a few images to a new Test album.

- Right-click on the Test Album > Select 'Make Album Available Offline' & try working on these images.

Let me know how it goes. Thanks!
Sameer K

StanlyPhoto

Participant

Same problem, June 10th. It take up to 5 min for one generation, that was taking 5 seconds before

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @Karina Biskop,

Thank you for reaching out and for the detailed write-up and diagnostics. I think the Generative Remove feature in Lightroom (cloud) processes edits on our servers, probably, so your local hardware is essentially idle while it runs. Your finding that the same images process faster in Lightroom Classic is also a valuable data point; it suggests the issue may be specific to the cloud processing path rather than image complexity. I will check with the product team to see if that could be the case.

A few things that could help us investigate further:

Approximate image dimensions and file type: are these large RAW files (e.g., 45+ MP), or standard JPEGs?
Have you tried using different wifi or mobile hotspots to check if that improves or slows down the speed for the same image?
Did the slowdown start on a particular date, or was it gradual? Does it happen at all times of day, or is it worse during certain hours?
Are you removing large objects or small blemishes?
If possible, share a screen recording comparing the same image in Lightroom Cloud and Lightroom Classic, and share that image with us so we can forward that info to the product team.

Also, please share the system info from both LrC and Lr Cloud. Help > System info, then copy and paste it here.

Best,
Anshul Saini

Karina BiskopAuthor

Participant

Hi,

Thanks for following up. Answers to your questions below:

1. Image type/size: RAW files, under 30 MP.

2. Network testing: Yes, I've tested on multiple networks — public WiFi, mobile hotspot, my neighbor's WiFi, and my home WiFi. No difference in AI tool performance across any of them. This affects both Generative Remove and Denoise feature.

3. When it started: Beginning of May. It happened mid-editing session and I initially thought it was a temporary glitch. The slowness is consistent regardless of time of day — equally bad morning, afternoon, and late at night.

4. Edit size: The slowdown affects both small and large area edits. Smaller blemishes process slightly faster, but that doesn't explain why the same edits that used to take seconds now take minutes.

5. System info is below.

Karina BiskopAuthor

Participant

just tried to edit the same photos in Lightroom Classic – AI features work way faster, I’d still prefer to edit everything in Lightroom tho, so any tips on how to resolve the slowdown in a cloud version is very much appreciated!

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