Build your AI editing workflow in Lightroom

Avoid AI edit warnings and achieve predictable results by following the recommended order of operations for AI edits.

Published June 3, 2026

00:01

Introduction

[Glyn Dewis]: Have you ever encountered a message in Lightroom telling you that some of your AI edits need to be updated?

Well, the reason for this is that some edits, such as AI assisted masking, need to be applied in a certain order for the best results.

Hi, I'm Glyn Dewis, a photographer and photo educator, and in this tutorial, we'll take a closer look at the recommended Lightroom workflow for AI-assisted edits, as well as the AI Edit Status menu that lets you keep track of which AI edits you've applied and when they might need updating.

00:32

Understand the AI Edit Status menu

Here I am in Lightroom and I'm going to, first of all, apply an Adaptive Color profile to this image.

When I do this, we can see that it has made quite a difference to the image.

And in the Toolbar on the right-hand side of the interface, you can see the AI Edit Status icon is now visible.

This icon becomes active once any of the AI edit tools in Lightroom are used.

However, there are times when the AI Edit Status will be highlighted in yellow.

For example, if I now go to the Remove section and, using the Generative AI option, brush over these rocks here to remove them, you'll see that the AI Edit Status icon is yellow, and when we click on it, we can see that the Adaptive Profile needs to be updated.

01:15

Why the order of AI edits is important

This is because there is what's called an order of operations, and that is our recommended order in which to use the AI edits available in Lightroom to not just get the best results, but to get the most predictable results.

I'll click Update All and there you can see it is now updated and the AI Edit Status is no longer yellow, and most of the time, this is all we'd need to do.

However, if we look at this example,

01:39

Update invalidated AI edits

which is just a photograph I took of my display during a photo shoot, I'll use the Remove with the Generative AI option selected to remove the key chain just here, like so.

Then I'll go to the Distraction Removal and Reflections and put a tick to apply it.

Now we see the reflections are gone, but the AI Edit Status is yellow, warning us that pixels have been invalidated and we can see that we already moved the keychain.

The brightness of those pixels doesn't match the rest of the image.

If I click to open the AI edits, we can see it's the Remove that needs updating.

I'll click to update the Remove, which it does.

It looks good, but the actual area that has been removed looks a bit different to before.

02:25

Recommended order of operations for AI edits

To avoid potential issues like this, it's always best to follow the order of operations.

And this is it here.

Those involved are the AI functions.

Starting from the top, which would be those edits you'd apply first and working through - we have 1.

HDR.

Denoise, Raw Details, Super Resolution.

Distraction Removal: Reflections.

Distraction Removal: People.

Distraction Removal: Dust.

Generative Expand.

Generative Remove.

Lens Blur.

Lens Profile.

10.

Crop and Transform.

11.

Adaptive Profiles.

12.

Global Adjustments.

And 13.

Masking.

Looking at this list from 1 to 13 is the correct order to follow, and to avoid seeing the yellow AI Edit Status and potential unexpected results when editing.

Thinking about this reflection image example.

Firstly, I used the Remove tool with generative AI, which is number seven in the order.

I then used Distraction Removal to remove the reflections, which is higher up in the order of operations at number three.

03:48

Using the AI edits workflow in your photo editing

This is kind of like an antique painting restorer, repairing any marks on a dirty painting and then cleaning it.

The repaired marks are going to look right whilst the painting is dirty, but when cleaned, they'll stand out - rather than cleaning it first and then repairing the marks.

Let me show you what I mean.

Let's go back to this seascape image.

I'll start first of all by using Denoise on the entire image, which is number two in the order of operations.

Then I'll go to the Remove tool and Distraction Removal and Dust.

This works on the entire image to find any dust spots which you can see indicated.

Using this, I can then click on any of the dust spots it may have missed, such as here.

Next, I'll apply the Adaptive Color Profile, which works great and really makes the color and tone of the image come alive.

Now I want to make these rock structures have more detail and punch.

So I'll go to the masking section and click on Landscape and choose Mountains and Natural Ground.

And we'll combine those into one mask and click Create.

And then apply some Clarity and Texture.

That's looking superb.

But now if I, say, grab the Remove tool and use generative AI to remove this rock structure, now we see that the AI Edit Status is yellow, indicating that we have invalidated some pixels.

So I'll click to open the AI Edit Status, and we see that the invalidated pixels are on the Adaptive Profile and the Masking, because when we edited the image, we first of all applied the Adaptive Profile, then the Masking, but then went back in reverse order and used generative Remove.

So I'll click to Update All.

Lightroom will update the AI edits and the pixels are now validated.

There you go; that's the recommended order of operations when editing in Lightroom and making use of AI tools and functions.

A simple way that I used to remember this are three words: build, clean, finish.

Build on the edits that changed the base file, or rebuild the image before you do anything else.

In Lightroom, that's HDR, Denoise, Raw Details, and Super Resolution.

Clean is about removing distractions or fixing problems in the photo, and that includes Reflections Removal, People Removal, Generative Remove, Content-Aware Remove, Heal, and Clone.

And Finish are the edits that shape the final style and look of the image.

So - build, clean, finish.

Most of the time, you'll find that simply updating the AI edits will work out completely fine.

But to avoid any potential issues in your images, apply your edits using this recommended workflow.

Once again, I'm Glyn Dewis.

Thanks for watching.

Note: Stock assets provided are for practice purposes only. See terms.

What you’ll learn

Understand the AI Edit Status Menu

When an AI edit has been applied, the icon for the AI Edit Status menu will be visible on the right tool bar. Click the icon to see which AI-powered adjustments have been applied to your image.

Why the order of AI edits Is Important

Some AI-powered edits in Lightroom depend on earlier adjustments being completed first to yield the most accurate and predictable results. Applying AI edits in a specific order can help prevent unexpected changes, invalidated pixels, and unnecessary reprocessing.

Update invalidated AI edits

If the AI Edit Status icon is yellow, it means that some AI edits need to be updated. Click the icon to open the AI edits menu and update any highlighted AI edits.

Recommended Order of Operations for AI Edits

Following the recommended order of operations for AI edits reduces potential editing conflicts that require updates to AI edits and helps you achieve more reliable and consistent results.

Using the AI Edits Order of Operations in your photo editing

Start with edits that prepare the existing file, such as Denoise, Raw Details, and Super Resolution. Then work on distraction removal and retouching with Generative Remove. Finish the processing with global edits and masking that shape the final style and look of the photo.

Instruction and photography by: Glyn Dewis

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General information

Cookies are small text files stored by your web browser when you use websites. There are also other technologies that can be used for similar purposes like HTML5 Local Storage, web beacons, and embedded scripts. These technologies help us do things like remembering you and your preferences when you return to our sites, measure how you use the website, conduct market research, and gather information about the ads you see and interact with.

If enabled:

We can improve your experience by tailoring the site and the content to things we think might be of interest
We can better keep track of your preferences — like what language you prefer to use
We will better understand your likely interests so we can provide you more relevant Adobe ads and content on non-Adobe websites and in non-Adobe apps
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View transcript

What you’ll learn

Understand the AI Edit Status Menu

Why the order of AI edits Is Important

Update invalidated AI edits

Recommended Order of Operations for AI Edits

Using the AI Edits Order of Operations in your photo editing

Try these tutorials with Lightroom