Adobe’s latest Lightroom update lets you describe an edit in plain language and have Google’s Nano Banana model carry it out, as an early-access feature that uses generative credits.
Adobe has released Lightroom v9.6, and the headline addition is Prompt to Edit, an AI tool that lets you type what you want to change in a photo rather than working through sliders and masks.
How Prompt to Edit works
According to Adobe’s help pages, Prompt to Edit is an early-access feature in Lightroom desktop. You can either write your own instruction or pick from a set of photographer-focused example prompts. Adobe says it’s intended for complex restorations, retouching, unblurring, colourisation and more dramatic transformations.
Under the hood, it uses Google’s Nano Banana 2 model, with a choice of 2K or 4K output. Each edit uses generative credits, and a credit balance icon shows how many you have left.
It’s important to understand that this is generative. Unlike Lightroom’s traditional edits, which adjust existing pixel data, Prompt to Edit regenerates the image. That opens up powerful restoration possibilities, but it also means the result is no longer strictly the photograph you captured.
Reflection Removal gets better
Version 9.6 also improves Reflection Removal. Adobe says results are cleaner and more accurate on windows, glass and water, with fewer smudges and ghosting artefacts on tricky surfaces. For travel and architecture photographers shooting through glass, that’s arguably the more useful day-to-day change.
The update also adds support for new cameras and lenses, along with bug fixes and stability improvements.
Our take
Seeing a third-party model like Nano Banana inside Lightroom is a significant moment. Adobe has previously relied on its own Firefly models, so this signals a more open approach. For old-photo restoration, Prompt to Edit could save hours. For documentary, news or competition work, photographers will need to be careful, as many contests now restrict generative edits.
Lightroom 9.6 key features
- Prompt to Edit: Early-access generative editing via text prompts
- AI model: Google Nano Banana 2, 2K or 4K output
- Cost: Uses generative credits
- Reflection Removal: Improved results on glass, windows and water
- Also: New camera and lens support, bug fixes
Lightroom 9.6 price and availability
Lightroom 9.6 is available now as a free update for Lightroom desktop subscribers, released on 29 September 2026. Prompt to Edit requires generative credits, which are included with Creative Cloud plans at varying levels. Full details are on Adobe’s website.
