AI Reverse Engineering: What Adobe's Software Clones Mean for Business

During the past few weeks, a story spread across the tech press faster than almost anything this year. A lone developer had used AI to build free, open-source alternatives to seven of Adobe's best-known applications, including Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Illustrator, and given them away.

For anyone who pays for a Creative Cloud subscription, the headline was irresistible. Some coverage went further, declaring that software itself was "over".

It isn't. But something important has changed, and it matters to every business that buys software, which is to say every business.

Here's what actually happened, what it means for the software industry, and what UK businesses should take from it.

What actually happened

The project, called ArtCraft, was built by developer Brandon Thomas. Its seven apps mirror Adobe's flagship products:

• PhotoCraft (Photoshop)
• VectorCraft (Illustrator)
• FilmCraft (Premiere Pro)
• LightCraft (Lightroom)
• EffectCraft (After Effects)
• DesignCraft (InDesign)
• PrintCraft (Acrobat Pro)

According to coverage of the project, most of the code was written by Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5, with smaller contributions from other AI coding tools, and the apps were built from scratch in Rust (programming language). They run on macOS, Windows, and Linux, are released under open-source licences, and replicate the layout, menus, and keyboard shortcuts of the Adobe apps they replace.

Public development began at the very end of September. Within two weeks, the project had attracted tens of thousands of stars on GitHub. The developer has said his motivation was frustration with Adobe's subscription model and cancellation fees.

What is reverse engineering?

Much of the coverage described ArtCraft as AI "reverse engineering" Adobe's software. It's a term that gets used loosely, so it's worth being clear about what it means.

Reverse engineering is the process of working backwards from a finished product to understand how it works. Instead of starting with a design and building a product, you start with the product and work out the design. It has been used for generations in engineering and manufacturing, but in IT, it usually refers to software reverse engineering: examining a program to understand what it does and how it works.

There are three common approaches:

• Black-box analysis: Studying how software behaves, including its inputs, outputs, file formats and interface, without looking at its code.
• Decompilation and disassembly: Converting a compiled program back into something closer to readable code, to see how it works internally.
• Clean-room design: Rebuilding a product's functionality without copying its code. Typically, one person or team studies the original and writes a specification, and a separate team that never sees the original code builds a new version from it. The best-known example is the clean-room recreation of the IBM PC's BIOS in the 1980s, which helped create the market for PC-compatible computers.

ArtCraft sits closest to the clean-room end of that spectrum. The developer describes his apps as clean-room reimplementations, built from scratch without Adobe's code.

Is reverse engineering legal in the UK?

Sometimes, depending on what you do and why. UK copyright law protects a program's code, but not the ideas behind it, and it allows a lawful user to observe, study and test how a program works. Decompiling code is permitted only in narrow circumstances, primarily to enable independent programs to work together.

A landmark case, SAS Institute v World Programming, confirmed that a program's functionality, programming language and data file formats aren't protected by copyright as such. That's why rebuilding what software does, from scratch, can be lawful. Copying the code itself is a different matter, and trademarks, design rights and licence agreements can all come into play. It's a complex area, so take legal advice before attempting anything similar.

Why reverse engineering matters in cybersecurity

Reverse engineering isn't just about cloning software. It's a core part of cybersecurity, on both sides:

• Security researchers reverse-engineer malware to understand how it spreads, what it does and how to stop it.
• Analysts examine software to find vulnerabilities before attackers do.
• Attackers do the same. One common technique is to compare a security patch with the previous version to identify the fixed flaw, then target systems that haven't been updated. That's one of the main reasons why prompt patching matters so much.

AI is speeding all of this up, for defenders and attackers alike. The skills that once took years to learn can now be aided by AI tools, making good security habits more important than ever.

The reality check

Before anyone cancels their Creative Cloud subscription, a few important caveats.

• It's very early: By the project's own estimates, only two of the seven apps are usable day-to-day, and PhotoCraft handles roughly a quarter of what a professional needs. There is a big difference between software that looks like Photoshop and software you can rely on for client work.

• It wasn't magic: Thomas is a highly experienced developer. The AI wrote most of the code, but he directed it. This is a skilled person working much faster, not a non-technical user typing "make me Photoshop" into Claude or ChatGPT. 

• The legal picture is untested: The developer describes the apps as "clean-room" reimplementations, built without copying Adobe's code. They do, however, deliberately mirror Adobe's interfaces. Whether that holds up if it's ever challenged remains to be seen.

• Free to download doesn't mean free to own: Someone still has to fix bugs, patch security holes, keep up with new operating systems and support users. That cost doesn't disappear because the code was quick to write.

What it means for the software industry

Even with those caveats, this is a genuine turning point, and the software industry knows it.

The cost of writing code is collapsing

For decades, the sheer effort of building software protected established vendors. A rival to Photoshop would have needed years and a large engineering team. ArtCraft shows that a skilled individual with AI can now produce a credible first version in days.

That doesn't make established software worthless. It moves the value. When code is cheap, what customers pay for is everything around it: reliability, security, support, integrations, data, compliance and trust built up over years.

Subscription pricing is under pressure

Much of the reaction to ArtCraft wasn't really about technology. It was about frustration with subscription pricing and lock-in. When a credible alternative can appear within weeks, customers' patience with price increases and cancellation fees wears thin. Expect vendors to work harder to justify their pricing, through better service, more flexible terms or features that are hard to replicate.

More competition, more fragmentation

If building software gets dramatically cheaper, there will simply be more of it: more niche tools, more open-source alternatives and more small teams challenging larger established organisations. That's good for choice, and should make pricing more competitive, but it makes deciding what to trust much harder.

New legal questions

Clean-room reimplementation isn't new, but AI makes it faster and far more accessible. Questions about how closely software can mirror another product's interface, and how AI-generated code should be treated, are likely to be tested more often.

The wider picture

When you step back, you start to realise ArtCraft challenging the likes of Adobe is a sign of things to come next. AI is changing the game in the economics of knowledge work and intellectual property. 

However, there is a lot of upside to this latest development in the software industry, such as the fact that: 

• Small teams can do far more: Work that once needed large teams can now be done by a handful of skilled people directing AI. The value of expertise doesn't vanish, but it shifts towards judgement: deciding what to build, checking the output and taking responsibility for it.

• Build versus buy changes for everyone: For years, most businesses had no realistic option but to buy off-the-shelf software. Now the power has shifted towards the consumer as building apps gets cheaper, and having smaller, tailored tools for specific internal processes becomes realistic for far more organisations, not just large ones.

• Security and supply chain risk grows: More software built faster by more people means more code that hasn't been through rigorous testing. Knowing where your software comes from, who maintains it and how quickly it's patched matters more, not less.

• Trust becomes the differentiator: When anyone can produce something that looks like a professional product, the questions that matter are whether it works, whether it's secure, whether it'll be maintained and whether someone stands behind it.

What this means for UK businesses

So what should a business actually do with this information?

• Don't swap core tools for alpha software: Free alternatives can be useful for light or personal tasks, but early-stage software isn't a safe foundation for client work or business-critical processes.

• Check new software against your security standards: Cyber Essentials expects software to be supported and kept up to date. An app with no guaranteed updates or support needs careful thought before it goes anywhere near your business systems.

• Watch for Shadow IT: Viral-free tools are exactly the kind of thing staff download without telling anyone. A clear, simple policy on what can be installed and who approves it avoids nasty surprises.

• Use the moment to review your software spend: If you're paying for subscriptions you barely use, or tolerating terms that don't suit you, now is a good time to look again. Vendors know their customers have more options than ever, so may be willing to negotiate favourable terms when renewals roll around. 

• Explore what AI could build for you, with the right controls: The bigger opportunity for most businesses isn't cloning someone else's product. It's using AI to build small tools and automations around your own processes, with proper oversight, testing and support. That's where we see the real value, and it's why getting your foundations right and keeping people in the loop matter so much.

The bottom line

Software isn't becoming obsolete. What's changing is where its value lies. The cost of writing code is falling fast, but the cost of software you can trust, with security, support and someone accountable behind it, isn't. For businesses, that means more choice, more leverage with vendors, and new opportunities to build, alongside a greater need for good judgment about what to rely on.

Wondering what AI could build for your business, safely?

At Netitude, we help UK businesses make sensible decisions about software, security and AI, from reviewing what you already pay for to exploring automation that fits how you work. Get in touch for an honest conversation about where to start.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

• What is ArtCraft? ArtCraft is an open-source project by developer Brandon Thomas that offers free alternatives to seven Adobe applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Acrobat Pro. The apps were released in October 2026.

• Was the Adobe alternative built with AI? According to coverage of the project, most of the code was written by Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5, with an experienced developer directing it, and with smaller contributions from other AI coding tools.

• Can ArtCraft replace Adobe Creative Cloud? Not yet. The apps are in early alpha, and by the project's own estimates, only two of the seven are usable day-to-day. They're an impressive demonstration but not a like-for-like replacement for professional work.

• What is reverse engineering? Reverse engineering is the process of working backwards from a finished product to understand how it works. In software, it can involve studying how a program behaves, decompiling its code, or rebuilding its functionality from scratch using a clean-room approach.

• Is reverse engineering legal in the UK? In some circumstances. UK law allows a lawful user to observe, study, and test how a program works, and permits decompilation in limited cases, primarily to enable programs to work together. Copying code isn't permitted, and trademarks, design rights and licence agreements can also apply. Take legal advice for any specific situation.

• What is clean-room design? Clean-room design is a way to rebuild software functionality without copying its code. One team studies the original and writes a specification, and a separate team that never sees the original code builds a new version from that specification.

• Is it legal to recreate software with AI? The developer describes ArtCraft as a clean-room reimplementation, built without copying Adobe's code, though the apps mirror Adobe's interfaces. Whether that would hold up if challenged hasn't been tested. This isn't legal advice, so take professional advice if you're considering anything similar.

• Is software becoming obsolete because of AI? No. AI is making software much cheaper and faster to build, but businesses still need software that is reliable, secure, supported and maintained. The value is shifting from writing code to everything around it.

• Should my business switch to free AI-built software? Be cautious. Check whether the software is supported, regularly updated and secure, and whether it meets standards such as Cyber Essentials, before using it for business-critical work.