Six applications.
One way of working.
There are already Adobe assistants and plugins that work inside their applications. Sekondo brings InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere Pro and Lightroom Classic together under one way of working: you explain the job to your assistant, it works on your files and you review the result.
Checked against each company’s own sources between 26 and 28 September 2026. If something changes, this page changes.
What you can do
with each tool
No small print, and the source next to each line. Every fact carries a number that links to where it was published, checked between 26 and 28 September 2026.
| Sekondo | Adobe | Sidekick | Others | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it can go | ||||
| InDesign | ✓ | beta | ✓ | Magnific |
| Photoshop | ✓ | beta | — | Magnific |
| Illustrator | ✓ | beta | — | Magnific |
| After Effects Synthetic: After Effects MCP, updated 26 September 20261 | ✓ | beta | — | Magnific, Synthetic |
| Premiere Pro Synthetic: Premiere Pro MCP, updated 24 September 20261 | ✓ | beta | — | Magnific, Synthetic |
| Lightroom Classic | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Work that moves between applications Sidekick, on its Adobe Exchange page: “Compatible apps: InDesign 19.0 or higher”2 | ✓ | — | — | not documented |
| Installs with a double click, no config files to edit Synthetic: its After Effects MCP has no installer; you need Node.js 18 and have to add a block with your licence to Claude’s configuration file by hand3. Sidekick: “Double-click and it installs itself”4 | ✓ | included in CC | ✓ | varies |
| What you get back | ||||
| The finished document, not an asset to place Synthetic: After Effects MCP imports a PSD keeping its layers as an editable composition1 | ✓ | — | InDesign only | varies |
| Shows you where each thing lives in the app | ✓ | — | — | not documented |
| Your files and your invoice | ||||
| No credits, no daily cap Adobe: the Premiere assistant (beta) has a daily credit allowance that resets at midnight GMT5. Sidekick sets no request limit of its own6 | ✓ | — | ✓ | varies |
| Runs on your machine, the document stays put Evoto sends reduced-resolution copies of your photos to its cloud, hosted in the United States7. Sidekick: “runs entirely on your machine”4 | ✓ | — | ✓ | varies |
| Built for client work, not still in testing Adobe, about the Premiere assistant in beta: “It’s not recommended to do client work just yet”8 | ✓ | — | ✓ | varies |
| The price | ||||
| All six applications, a month Others: from Photoroom, free, to Magnific Pro, €230 a month before VAT9,10 | €47 · €29 founder | included in CC | — | €0 to €230 |
| One application on its own, a month Sidekick, price from their site, 26 September 20264 | €15 · €12 founder | included in CC | $9.95 | — |
Who we are comparing
Others are the ones doing something similar by a different route: Magnific11, MotionAmigo (After Effects)12, Synthetic (dedicated products for After Effects and Premiere Pro)1, the open-source MCP servers on GitHub, Evoto, Imagen AI, Photoroom, Midjourney and Figma. Their scope, installation and upkeep vary from one project to another.
Adobe has its own AI Assistant, in public beta since 18 June 2026 in the Beta versions of Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign13. It reached After Effects (Beta) on 6 August, and Adobe announced it as a public beta on 8 September 202614,15. Lightroom Classic does not have it yet16. Illustrator (Beta) also ships its own MCP server17. And its connector for Claude, launched on 28 April 2026, works on the files you upload to Creative Cloud, not on the ones on your disk18,19.
Adobe workflows in the cloud
Adobe Run-Workflow MCP connects compatible assistants to Firefly Creative Production workflows. It lets them discover actions, launch processes and collect their results through a service hosted by Adobe20. Sekondo is built to carry out tasks in the open document of your Adobe applications.
- Where it runs: on a service hosted by Adobe; finished files are downloaded from temporary links20.
- What it does: the available Creative Production workflows, such as removing backgrounds, generating or editing images, placing images into templates or versioning videos20.
- What you need: an access token and an API key from your organisation’s admin21.
- The open document on your computer: not documented for this connector.
Verified sources
Date of the review: 26 to 28 September 2026. Each link opens the original publication.
- Synthetic · Changelog: After Effects MCP and Premiere MCP · 26 Sep 2026 · synthetic.com.ar
- Adobe Exchange · Sidekick for InDesign listing · 30 Jul 2026 · exchange.adobe.com
- Synthetic · After Effects MCP installation guide · no date on the page, accessed 28 Sep 2026 · docs.synthetic.com.ar
- Sidekick · Official website · no date on the page, accessed 26 Sep 2026 · sidekick.eastpole.nl
- Adobe · Premiere AI Assistant FAQ · 18 Jun 2026 · helpx.adobe.com
- Sidekick · Sidekick vs built-in AI · no date on the page, accessed 26 Sep 2026 · sidekick.eastpole.nl
- Evoto · Privacy policy · 22 Jul 2026 · res.evoto.ai
- Adobe · Premiere AI Assistant overview · 18 Jun 2026 · helpx.adobe.com
- Photoroom · Pricing · no date on the page, accessed 26 Sep 2026 · photoroom.com
- Magnific · Pricing · no date on the page, accessed 26 Sep 2026 · magnific.com
- Magnific · Plugins for Adobe applications · no date on the page, accessed 26 Sep 2026 · magnific.com
- MotionAmigo · Official website · no date on the page, accessed 26 Sep 2026 · motionamigo.com
- Adobe · Press release: the AI Assistant in beta in Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Frame.io · 18 Jun 2026 · news.adobe.com
- Adobe Community · New in After Effects (Beta): the AI Assistant · 6 Aug 2026 · community.adobe.com
- Adobe Blog · The AI Assistant in public beta in After Effects · 8 Sep 2026 · blog.adobe.com
- Adobe · What’s new in Lightroom Classic (15.4 and 15.5): no assistant · 4 Aug 2026 · helpx.adobe.com
- Adobe · Using AI tools with Illustrator: the Illustrator (Beta) MCP server · 18 Aug 2026 · helpx.adobe.com
- Adobe Blog · Launch of Adobe’s connector for Claude · 28 Apr 2026 · blog.adobe.com
- Adobe · Adobe connectors FAQ · 24 Sep 2026 · helpx.adobe.com
- Adobe · Run-Workflow MCP overview · 28 Jul 2026 · helpx.adobe.com
- Adobe · Install and configure Run-Workflow MCP · 28 Jul 2026 · helpx.adobe.com
- Sidekick · Terms of use · Dec 2025 · sidekick.eastpole.nl
Deliver the logo you had in mind.
The judgement is still yours. Sekondo carries it into every piece.
What they have and we do not yet
Because if this page only told the good half, you would not believe the other half.
On Adobe Exchange
Sidekick is listed on Adobe Exchange2, where designers actually look for plugins and where a review carries weight. Sekondo is not, yet.
A free trial
They give you 30 days without charging you22. We charge and refund within 30 days, no questions. That is worse for you and we know it.
Track record
They have over 1,500 designers and signed reviews4. Sekondo ships in October 2026. That is not bought, it is earned.
And on the other side, what cannot be bought either. Covering six applications is within reach of anyone with time and money. So is hiring a designer with thirty-four years in the trade. What you cannot hire is for him to be the one deciding what the tool does. Sekondo was not built by a software company: it was built by someone who still delivers, and it shows in what it takes for granted.
Check it yourself.
What each one does, without adjectives. The empty boxes are ours too.