Creative intelligence.

Bradley-Terry leaderboard pooled across 9 image-generation studies and 240 completed tournaments. Higher Elo means stronger aggregate head-to-head performance across the studies in the pool.

1. 1GPT Image 21128
2. 2GPT Image 1.51033
3. 3Seedream 5.0 Lite1014
4. 4Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview1012
5. 5Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview989
6. 6Krea 2 Large975
7. 7Seedream 4.5955
8. 8FLUX.2946

1. 
   05/27/2026ImageProfile

   Can Adobe Firefly edit like Photoshop?8 targeted edits across 4 designer sessions. Firefly cleanly resolved 1, drifted on 5, and missed 2.Read
   1 / 8Edits cleanly resolved

   5 / 8Edits landed partial

   2 / 8Edits unresolved

   Adobe Firefly Edit · 8 attempts across 4 sessions (Hero + Social per session)
2. 
   05/22/2026Cross-cuttingProfile

   The only prompt that got videos to production-ready in Adobe Firefly.4 designers, 3 deliverables each. The prompts that landed described physical direction, not aesthetic mood.Read
   1 / 4Videos production-ready, first pass

   2 / 4Social stills production-ready, first pass

   20Photoshop mentions across 4 sessions

   Adobe Firefly designer evaluation · 4 designers, 3 deliverables each
3. 
   05/21/2026Web DesignField Note

   In Claude Design, your opening prompt decides the ceiling.5 designers, 5 openings, 1 luxury brief. The first prompt set what each session could reach.Read
   Specificity score (0–1)

   First-prompt specificity by participant, Claude-scored · 5 designers, 1 brief
4. 
   05/20/2026Web DesignProfile

   Claude Design gets you 40%, Figma gets the rest.5 sessions, 5 designers, 1 real-world client brief. Strong as a starting structure, breaks under precision edits.Read
   60 → 100%Designers flagging layout & spacing, Edit 1 → Edits 4–5

   5 / 5Sessions where layout was the recurring failure mode

   ≤40%Designer verdict: use it to here, then hand off

   Claude Design designer evaluation · 5 designers, 1 real-world client brief
5. 
   05/18/2026ImageField Note

   With ChatGPT Images 2.0, "Text is solved." Typography isn't.42 sessions, 7 designers. ChatGPT Images 2.0 nails the typographic system, then breaks on the individual characters.Read
   +3 / +3 / +1Macro themes (hierarchy, brand fit, fonts) net positive

   −1 / −3Micro themes (legibility, size & weight) net negative

   0Designer mentions of size & weight as a strength

   Typography sentiment · 42 sessions, 7 designers, 6 briefs
6. 
   05/14/2026ImageProfile

   ChatGPT Images 2.0 won every head-to-head. Here's where it still breaks.41 sessions, 7 designers, 6 briefs. GPT Image 2 nails the concept, then breaks at production.Read
   5 / 41Sessions shipped from GPT alone

   33 → 59%Typography "no issues" climb

   60-65%Realism plateau, every iteration

   ChatGPT Images 2.0 production readiness
7. 
   05/13/2026ImageBattle

   The image-model leaderboard flips by brief.Four frontier image models, six brand campaigns, ranked blind by working creatives. GPT Image 2 wins the aggregate. Every other model owns a category.Read
   1st-place rate

   GPT Image 2

   1st

   40.7%

   Seedream 5.0 Lite

   2nd

   22.3%

   FLUX.2 [pro]

   3rd

   22.2%

   Gemini 3.1 Flash

   4th

   14.8%

   Share of 1st-place rankings across 6 brand campaigns · 4 frontier image models
8. 
   05/12/2026ImageBattle

   Krea 2 Large is the #2 style-transfer model, closing on GPT Image 2.Four-model style-transfer evaluation. Krea took #2 on style fidelity, 0.14 points behind GPT Image 2.Read
   Style Fidelity (avg)

   GPT Image 2

   1st

   3.53

   Krea 2 Large

   2nd

   3.39

   Gemini 3 Pro

   3rd

   2.74

   Seedream 5.0 Lite

   4th

   2.42

   Style Fidelity average rating · Krea 2 Large takes #2, 0.14 points behind GPT Image 2
9. 
   05/06/2026ImageBattle

   Seedream 5.0 Lite swept the field on product detail shots.A blind head-to-head against the leading image models from Google, OpenAI, and Black Forest Labs, evaluated by professional creatives.Read
   Win rate

   Seedream 5.0 Lite

   1st

   63.9%

   Gemini 3 Pro

   2nd

   52.8%

   GPT Image 1.5

   3rd

   44.4%

   FLUX.2 [max]

   4th

   38.9%

   Pairwise win rate · 4 leading image models · March 2026
10. 
    05/05/2026Cross-cuttingField Note

    Creatives keep telling us the same thing about AI: every output looks the same.12 models, 5 creative domains. One repeated complaint from working evaluators: the work all looks the same.Read
    Convergence (best-practice) and divergence (steerability) as orthogonal signals.
11. 
    04/28/2026VideoProfile

    Grok Imagine is the "Polisher" model. Hand off the early rounds, bring it in for refinement.The biggest phase-over-phase climb of any video model in the study. 3rd at ideation, 1st at refinement.Read
    Win rate

    Ideation

    3rd place

    46%

    Mockup

    44%

    Refinement

    1st place

    56%

    Grok Imagine win rate · +10pp climb from ideation to refinement
12. 
    04/23/2026Cross-cuttingField Note

    The creative process has 3 phases. AI performs very differently in each.Ideation, mockup, refinement. AI fits differently at each phase, and the best creatives know where to hand off.Read
    Ideation

    Loose grip

    Mockup

    Narrowed

    Refinement

    Firm grip

    How tightly creatives hold control across phases · Qualitative
13. 
    04/22/2026VideoProfile

    Veo 3.1 is the "Creative Director" model. Use it early, but hand off before refinement.61% win rate at ideation. 39% at refinement. The clearest model profile in our video evaluation.Read
    Win rate

    Ideation

    Peak

    61.1%

    Mockup

    55.6%

    Refinement

    Last place

    38.9%

    Veo 3.1 win rate · −22.2pp drop from ideation to refinement
14. 
    04/21/2026Cross-cuttingField Note

    Solo creatives are earning more with AI and staying independent.Higher earning potential, more projects, no new hires. The survey from working independents.Read
    of independent creatives report higher earning potential since adopting AI

    26% no · 8% other

    Survey · Independent creatives on Contra
15. 
    04/14/2026Web DesignBattle

    We tested 4 AI models with professional web designers. Claude won, but not the way you'd expect.Claude Opus 4.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro, ChatGPT 5.3 Codex, Qwen 3.5. The winner shifted at every phase.Read
    Leading win rate

    Ideation

    Claude leads

    79.8%

    Mockup

    Gemini takes over

    68.9%

    Refinement

    Claude narrows gap

    60%

    Per-phase leader shifts · Preview of the Human Creativity Benchmark
16. 
    04/08/2026Cross-cuttingField Note

    AI isn't replacing creative professionals. It's making the best ones better.Survey of high-earning independent creatives. What they actually do with AI on real client work.Read
    of AI output makes it to final deliverables

    The rest is stripped, reworked, or scrapped

    Dominant survey response · Independent creatives