Artcraft Tested: How Good Are AI Clones of Photoshop & Word Really?

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Artcraft Tested: How Good Are AI Clones of Photoshop & Word Really.

"Software is over" – that's what US developer Brandon Thomas posted in early October 2026 on the online forum Hacker News. A few days later he delivered the proof for that thesis: on his platform Artcraft, he released AI-generated replicas of practically every major office and creative program – free and open source.

Tech magazine t3n takes a look at the project – which has continued to grow since – in a piece by Kim Rixecker (12.10.2026). The big question is on the table: can the clones actually hold up in everyday use – and what does that mean for the future of commercial software that shapes the workday in many companies?

From Photoshop to Pro Tools: What's Currently in Artcraft

It started with Adobe's five flagships: Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Premiere, and InDesign. By now the Microsoft Office classics Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are also available as clones – along with Autodesk AutoCAD and the audio software Avid Pro Tools. According to t3n, the replicas run on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

The programs were built using Anthropic's Opus models. Thomas is therefore leaning on the code and interface capabilities of an existing AI – no in-house developer team is needed.

What Remains Open

The t3n article deliberately leaves open what the Artcraft versions deliver in detail. At the end stands the question the title already raises: is this the end of Photoshop, Word & Co.? t3n doesn't give a definitive answer – it depends on what you need the software for, and how well the clones hold up in your everyday test.

What This Means for You

Artcraft exists, and it's free. Anyone curious can try the clones today on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Whether they pass the everyday test still remains to be seen. What's clear, however, is the direction: when even complex programs like AutoCAD or Premiere become available as AI clones within just a few weeks, commercial vendors – whose software shapes the workday in many companies – come under at least some pressure to explain themselves.

Source: t3n: The End of Photoshop, Word & Co.? (Kim Rixecker, 12.10.2026)