AI Index / AI tools for photographers / History

AI tools for photographers — AI Recommendation History

What AI assistants recommended for ai tools for photographers, date by date. Every ranking we publish is frozen the day it publishes, so this is a record of what was said — not a re-computation of what today's data would say about the past.

Record: 26 dated snapshots · Aug 14, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026

Answer archive Methodology Data studies JSON

What changed

Computed by comparing each dated snapshot with the one before it. Share moves smaller than 1pp are treated as noise and left out — the same threshold that suppresses trend arrows on the ranking.

Sep 8, 2026vs Sep 7, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 7, 2026vs Sep 6, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 6, 2026vs Sep 5, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 5, 2026vs Sep 4, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 4, 2026vs Sep 3, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-7 → 7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▼Topaz moved #7 → #9
▲Evoto moved #6 → #5
▼Luminar Neo moved #5 → #6
▲Capture One moved #8 → #7
▲Adobe Lightroom moved #9 → #8
▼Lightroom -3.2pp (81% → 77.8%)
▼Topaz -3.2pp (30.2% → 27%)
▼Imagen -1.6pp (79.4% → 77.8%)
▼Luminar Neo -1.6pp (46% → 44.4%)
▼Narrative -1.6pp (23.8% → 22.2%)

Sep 3, 2026vs Sep 2, 2026

▲ INAdobe Lightroom entered the top 10 (#12 → #9)
▼ OUTRetouch4me left the top 10 (#9 → #12)
▲Adobe Lightroom moved #12 → #9
▼Retouch4me moved #9 → #12
▲Luminar Neo moved #6 → #5
▼Evoto moved #5 → #6
▼Topaz -7.9pp (38.1% → 30.2%)
▲Photoshop +6.3pp (65.1% → 71.4%)
▲Luminar Neo +4.7pp (41.3% → 46%)
▲Lightroom +3.2pp (77.8% → 81%)
▲Imagen +3.2pp (76.2% → 79.4%)
▲Adobe Lightroom +3.2pp (23.8% → 27%)
▲Aftershoot +1.6pp (71.4% → 73%)
▲Capture One +1.6pp (27% → 28.6%)
▼Retouch4me -1.6pp (25.4% → 23.8%)
▲Evoto +1.5pp (42.9% → 44.4%)

Sep 2, 2026vs Sep 1, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 1, 2026vs Aug 31, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 31, 2026vs Aug 30, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 30, 2026vs Aug 29, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 29, 2026vs Aug 28, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 28, 2026vs Aug 27, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 27, 2026vs Aug 26, 2026

▲ INCapture One entered the top 10 (#12 → #8)
▼ OUTAdobe Lightroom left the top 10 (#8 → #12)
▲Capture One moved #12 → #8
▼Adobe Lightroom moved #8 → #12
▲Luminar Neo moved #7 → #6
▼Topaz moved #6 → #7
▲Luminar Neo +4.9pp (36.4% → 41.3%)
▲Capture One +4.9pp (22.1% → 27%)
▲Photoshop +2.8pp (62.3% → 65.1%)
▲Aftershoot +2.6pp (68.8% → 71.4%)
▲Lightroom +1.2pp (76.6% → 77.8%)

Aug 26, 2026vs Aug 25, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 25, 2026vs Aug 24, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 24, 2026vs Aug 23, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 23, 2026vs Aug 22, 2026

▲ INRetouch4me entered the top 10 (#11 → #9)
▼ OUTNarrative Select left the top 10 (#10 → #11)
▲Retouch4me moved #11 → #9
▲Topaz moved #7 → #6
▼Luminar Neo moved #6 → #7
▼Narrative moved #9 → #10
▼Narrative Select moved #10 → #11
▼Adobe Lightroom -2.9pp (27.6% → 24.7%)
▼Aftershoot -2.6pp (71.4% → 68.8%)
▼Luminar Neo -2.4pp (38.8% → 36.4%)
▲Retouch4me +1.2pp (23.5% → 24.7%)
▼Narrative -1.1pp (24.5% → 23.4%)
▼Narrative Select -1.1pp (24.5% → 23.4%)
▼Photoshop -1pp (63.3% → 62.3%)
▼Evoto -1pp (43.9% → 42.9%)

Aug 22, 2026vs Aug 21, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 21, 2026vs Aug 20, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 20, 2026vs Aug 19, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 19, 2026vs Aug 18, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 18, 2026vs Aug 17, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 17, 2026vs Aug 16, 2026

▼Narrative -2.3pp (26.8% → 24.5%)
▼Narrative Select -2.3pp (26.8% → 24.5%)
▼Adobe Lightroom -1.9pp (29.5% → 27.6%)
▼Aftershoot -1.8pp (73.2% → 71.4%)
▼Luminar Neo -1.4pp (40.2% → 38.8%)
▼Lightroom -1.2pp (77.7% → 76.5%)
▼Photoshop -1pp (64.3% → 63.3%)

Aug 16, 2026vs Aug 15, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 15, 2026vs Aug 14, 2026

▲ INNarrative Select entered the top 10 (#11 → #10)
▼ OUTImagen AI left the ranking (was #8)
▲Adobe Lightroom moved #9 → #8
▲Narrative moved #10 → #9
▲Narrative Select moved #11 → #10

The ranking, date by date

Top 10 on each archived date, exactly as published. Cite a date and it stays true: snapshots are append-only, and a correction appends a new revision rather than overwriting the original.

Sep 8, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-11 – 2026-09-08 · rules v7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen77.8%
#3Aftershoot73%
#4Photoshop71.4%
#5Evoto44.4%
#6Luminar Neo44.4%
#7Capture One28.6%
#8Adobe Lightroom27%
#9Topaz27%
#10Narrative22.2%

Sep 7, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-10 – 2026-09-07 · rules v7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen77.8%
#3Aftershoot73%
#4Photoshop71.4%
#5Evoto44.4%
#6Luminar Neo44.4%
#7Capture One28.6%
#8Adobe Lightroom27%
#9Topaz27%
#10Narrative22.2%

Sep 6, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-09 – 2026-09-06 · rules v7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen77.8%
#3Aftershoot73%
#4Photoshop71.4%
#5Evoto44.4%
#6Luminar Neo44.4%
#7Capture One28.6%
#8Adobe Lightroom27%
#9Topaz27%
#10Narrative22.2%

Sep 5, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-08 – 2026-09-05 · rules v7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen77.8%
#3Aftershoot73%
#4Photoshop71.4%
#5Evoto44.4%
#6Luminar Neo44.4%
#7Capture One28.6%
#8Adobe Lightroom27%
#9Topaz27%
#10Narrative22.2%

Sep 4, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-07 – 2026-09-04 · rules v7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen77.8%
#3Aftershoot73%
#4Photoshop71.4%
#5Evoto44.4%
#6Luminar Neo44.4%
#7Capture One28.6%
#8Adobe Lightroom27%
#9Topaz27%
#10Narrative22.2%

Sep 3, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-06 – 2026-09-03 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom81%
#2Imagen79.4%
#3Aftershoot73%
#4Photoshop71.4%
#5Luminar Neo46%
#6Evoto44.4%
#7Topaz30.2%
#8Capture One28.6%
#9Adobe Lightroom27%
#10Narrative23.8%

Sep 2, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-05 – 2026-09-02 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen76.2%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop65.1%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Luminar Neo41.3%
#7Topaz38.1%
#8Capture One27%
#9Retouch4me25.4%
#10Narrative23.8%

Sep 1, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-04 – 2026-09-01 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen76.2%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop65.1%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Luminar Neo41.3%
#7Topaz38.1%
#8Capture One27%
#9Retouch4me25.4%
#10Narrative23.8%

Aug 31, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-03 – 2026-08-31 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen76.2%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop65.1%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Luminar Neo41.3%
#7Topaz38.1%
#8Capture One27%
#9Retouch4me25.4%
#10Narrative23.8%

Aug 30, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-02 – 2026-08-30 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen76.2%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop65.1%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Luminar Neo41.3%
#7Topaz38.1%
#8Capture One27%
#9Retouch4me25.4%
#10Narrative23.8%

Aug 29, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-01 – 2026-08-29 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen76.2%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop65.1%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Luminar Neo41.3%
#7Topaz38.1%
#8Capture One27%
#9Retouch4me25.4%
#10Narrative23.8%

Aug 28, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-31 – 2026-08-28 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen76.2%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop65.1%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Luminar Neo41.3%
#7Topaz38.1%
#8Capture One27%
#9Retouch4me25.4%
#10Narrative23.8%

Aug 27, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-30 – 2026-08-27 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.8%
#2Imagen76.2%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop65.1%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Luminar Neo41.3%
#7Topaz38.1%
#8Capture One27%
#9Retouch4me25.4%
#10Narrative23.8%

Aug 26, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-29 – 2026-08-26 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.6%
#2Imagen75.3%
#3Aftershoot68.8%
#4Photoshop62.3%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Topaz37.7%
#7Luminar Neo36.4%
#8Adobe Lightroom24.7%
#9Retouch4me24.7%
#10Narrative23.4%

Aug 25, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-28 – 2026-08-25 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.6%
#2Imagen75.3%
#3Aftershoot68.8%
#4Photoshop62.3%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Topaz37.7%
#7Luminar Neo36.4%
#8Adobe Lightroom24.7%
#9Retouch4me24.7%
#10Narrative23.4%

Aug 24, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-27 – 2026-08-24 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.6%
#2Imagen75.3%
#3Aftershoot68.8%
#4Photoshop62.3%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Topaz37.7%
#7Luminar Neo36.4%
#8Adobe Lightroom24.7%
#9Retouch4me24.7%
#10Narrative23.4%

Aug 23, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-26 – 2026-08-23 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.6%
#2Imagen75.3%
#3Aftershoot68.8%
#4Photoshop62.3%
#5Evoto42.9%
#6Topaz37.7%
#7Luminar Neo36.4%
#8Adobe Lightroom24.7%
#9Retouch4me24.7%
#10Narrative23.4%

Aug 22, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-25 – 2026-08-22 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.5%
#2Imagen74.5%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop63.3%
#5Evoto43.9%
#6Luminar Neo38.8%
#7Topaz37.8%
#8Adobe Lightroom27.6%
#9Narrative24.5%
#10Narrative Select24.5%

Aug 21, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-24 – 2026-08-21 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.5%
#2Imagen74.5%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop63.3%
#5Evoto43.9%
#6Luminar Neo38.8%
#7Topaz37.8%
#8Adobe Lightroom27.6%
#9Narrative24.5%
#10Narrative Select24.5%

Aug 20, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-23 – 2026-08-20 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.5%
#2Imagen74.5%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop63.3%
#5Evoto43.9%
#6Luminar Neo38.8%
#7Topaz37.8%
#8Adobe Lightroom27.6%
#9Narrative24.5%
#10Narrative Select24.5%

Aug 19, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-22 – 2026-08-19 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.5%
#2Imagen74.5%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop63.3%
#5Evoto43.9%
#6Luminar Neo38.8%
#7Topaz37.8%
#8Adobe Lightroom27.6%
#9Narrative24.5%
#10Narrative Select24.5%

Aug 18, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-21 – 2026-08-18 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.5%
#2Imagen74.5%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop63.3%
#5Evoto43.9%
#6Luminar Neo38.8%
#7Topaz37.8%
#8Adobe Lightroom27.6%
#9Narrative24.5%
#10Narrative Select24.5%

Aug 17, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-20 – 2026-08-17 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom76.5%
#2Imagen74.5%
#3Aftershoot71.4%
#4Photoshop63.3%
#5Evoto43.9%
#6Luminar Neo38.8%
#7Topaz37.8%
#8Adobe Lightroom27.6%
#9Narrative24.5%
#10Narrative Select24.5%

Aug 16, 2026112 sampled answers · window 2026-07-19 – 2026-08-16 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.7%
#2Imagen75%
#3Aftershoot73.2%
#4Photoshop64.3%
#5Evoto44.6%
#6Luminar Neo40.2%
#7Topaz38.4%
#8Adobe Lightroom29.5%
#9Narrative26.8%
#10Narrative Select26.8%

Aug 15, 2026112 sampled answers · window 2026-07-18 – 2026-08-15 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.7%
#2Imagen75%
#3Aftershoot73.2%
#4Photoshop64.3%
#5Evoto44.6%
#6Luminar Neo40.2%
#7Topaz38.4%
#8Adobe Lightroom29.5%
#9Narrative26.8%
#10Narrative Select26.8%

Aug 14, 2026112 sampled answers · window 2026-07-17 – 2026-08-14 · rules v4-7

#1Lightroom77.7%
#2Imagen75%
#3Aftershoot73.2%
#4Photoshop64.3%
#5Evoto44.6%
#6Luminar Neo40.2%
#7Topaz38.4%
#8Imagen AI30.4%
#9Adobe Lightroom29.5%
#10Narrative26.8%

Read any date directly

Every archived date is machine-readable at /api/index/ai-tools-for-photographers/as-of/<YYYY-MM-DD>, which returns the ranking as it stood, with the extraction version and revision it was published under. Dates before the record begins return no_record rather than a recomputation — we do not reconstruct history on demand and present it as what we said. See what the engines actually said.

[ORBATOR]