My photo rejected as "similar content" isn't that similar. Is AI at Adobe going amok?

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
May 18, 2025
2 replies
333 views

I find it implausibe to believe--and I was very descriptive and I used accurate keywords when I uploaded it--that there are many images on Adobe Stock similar to my photograph that I submitted this month of sea pink wildflowers on a cliff with the Atlantic in the background, having had to squat down and crawl to the edge of a cliff in a not-so-well traveled part of Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. But the pic was denied because there is "similar content in our collection." Keep in mind, Ireland is not known for its sunny days. After playing around with search options on the Adobe Stock, I found one photograph--just one--that was slightly similar to mine. By the way, there are other stock photo services out there. Is this a case of AI running amok on Adobe? My level of asset refusals have skyrocketed in the last month, and after doing some research here, I'm not alone. If I am doing something wrong, what is it?

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Flowers are by far the most over-represented subject in Adobe Stock inventory. Currently, there are over 67 MILLION flowers in the database. The competition is fierce, if not impossible.

stock.adobe.com/search?k=flower

Adobe Stock rewards contributors who identify a need & fill it with commercial quality content that customers are likely to see & buy.

Update on Similar Refusals

https://community.adobe.com/t5/stock-contributors-discussions/update-on-similar-refusals/td-p/15298461

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

J

johnr70588232Author

Participating Frequently

Thanks for your input. I guess the message from the top is "no flowers." Actually, mine are wildflowers. But it'd be nice if Adobe Stock said something, but you did, thanks for that. But the competion is not impossible, as 1/3 of what I sell are wildflower pics.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Adobe Employees rarely participate here. This is a user-to-user community of fellow product users & contributors.

Stock is a numbers & percentage game. Being in the right place at the right time with content that customers are looking for is how Contributors succeed.

If my work must compete with over 67 million other assets, I know that a very low percentage of people will ever see my work in searches, and even fewer will license it. That's like getting struck by lightening, twice in the same day. 💥

Ideally, we want to be the biggest fish in the smallest pond; not the tiniest fish in a giant sea that very few people are likely to notice.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Jill_C

Community Expert

You're not doing anything wrong. Many other Contributors have expressed the same frustrations, and there is a strong suspicion that the algorithm, whether it be AI or not, isn't always making valid rejections. Unfortunatelym there's nothing we can do about it.

Jill C., Forum Volunteer

J

johnr70588232Author

Participating Frequently

Thanks. It's a darn good photo, and yes, like all content creators, I believe my work is flawless. I get it, what's the point, on Adobe's end, of having 500 photos of the same bridge over the same river, but something is off, I suspect too.

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