Evoto, the company behind AI-powered desktop editing software Evoto AI and Evoto Video, has found itself in hot water due to a “technical pilot” for an AI Headshot Generator briefly appearing on the company’s website. Evoto has always maintained a fervent creators-first stance, with AI software designed to work alongside professional creatives, but this glimpse of full-image generation has caused much controversy among its user base.
Early Evoto AI adopter and ambassador, as well as YouTuber and photographer, Sal Cincotta, released a video to air his grievances, in which he discussed the situation and said he would have to "rethink" his ambassadorial role. The same video cites a Facebook post from Evoto explaining that the AI Headshot Generator “recently moved into a phase of visibility beyond our intended roadmap for general release” and that it has since been removed from the website.
The company has also released an official statement to both apologize and address the situation and its users’ concerns, stating: “We realize that by testing a tool that generates images from scratch, we crossed a line. Evoto was built to handle the heavy lifting of retouching – not a tool that replaces the person behind the lens.”
Perhaps the most important part of the statement is that, following confusion as to how the AI Headshot Generator was being trained, Evoto has reclarified: “We do not use your images or your clients' images to train our AI models (...) We source our data exclusively through commercially licensed and purchased imagery.” The statement closes with a commitment to earn back customers’ trust.
However, it would appear that such statements have done little to quell the concerns of disgruntled commenters, with some questioning how a functional-looking tool could be accidentally released.
This isn’t the first time a photo-editing software company has faced the ire of the creative community over AI-related material. Adobe famously caused an uproar in June 2024 when an update to its terms of service caused confusion over image usage, which it swiftly had to clarify. But in a world where many creatives are wary of artificial intelligence, the road to redemption isn’t always an easy one.
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