For small and mid-size businesses (SMBs), capturing audiences' attention has never been more challenging. In a world of content overload, it all starts with catching their eye.

Creative photo and video libraries are a simple and accessible solution for many SMBs to quickly find and purchase quality images, even with a small marketing budget. However, the rise of AI-generated images has changed the creative landscape. Businesses are experimenting with AI to find efficiencies, but they also need their marketing to look and feel authentic while ensuring the content they use is commercially safe, whether they're working with their own images or sourcing them from a creative library.

Fortunately, there is a commercially safe way to elevate creative visuals, with no technical expertise required. iStock's AI suite is making it possible for businesses of all sizes to quickly and confidently edit standout marketing images, all while ensuring their visuals are licensed and protected.

Stay flexible, consistent and safe while standing out from the competition

As a leading global source of visual content, iStock — backed by the extensive resources and expertise of Getty Images — offers SMBs and creators a vast creative library at an accessible price point. Now, with its suite of AI-powered tools, customers gain even more flexibility and creative control while saving time and money.

iStock makes it simple to create or customize visuals for a variety of marketing needs, from sketching a proof of concept to refreshing an existing campaign to generating all-new images that leap off the page, whether generating a visual through its intuitive Prompt Builder, to modifying an existing image to fit your audience and aesthetic.

No matter what they create, customers can rest assured that their outputs are backed by robust legal protection and free of copyrighted material. Built in partnership with Bria, the AI tools are trained on licensed creative content, including from iStock's creative library.

Here are just a few of the ways SMBs can pair iStock's rich library of creative content with AI modification capabilities to easily adapt, modify and elevate visual storytelling:

Modify images and create variations at scale: Campaigns can shift quickly, and visuals need to keep up. iStock's AI suite lets SMBs adapt existing high-quality images in seconds by swapping in new objects, updating key elements, or expanding the frame to fit new layouts or aspect ratios.

Showcase your product in any scene: With iStock's object placement tool, users can place their product (or other object) into any background or scenario.

Ensure visual consistency: Refreshing an old campaign or giving evergreen content a seasonal makeover shouldn't compromise the visual voice of a brand. With object placement, color-matched background changes and reference-guided adjustments, SMBs can keep every visual asset aligned with brand tone, palette and composition while still giving it a fresh look.

Localize and personalize: Consumers want to see content that feels relatable and personalized to them. iStock's suite allows SMBs to easily localize creative content by adding context-specific elements, or removing objects that don't fit a specific region or demographic, all while maintaining image quality and authenticity.

Stand out across channels: It's easy for marketing campaigns to get lost in the flood of content that audiences see across social, mobile and email. iStock's tools help SMBs quickly expand or refocus platform-optimized visuals that capture audiences' attention, translating curiosity into clicks.

To further help SMBs and marketers stay on top of the latest market shifts, Getty Images' VisualGPS platform offers exclusive creative insights and decades' worth of visual trends — from color palettes to consumer preferences.

Create eye-catching marketing imagery without breaking the bank

iStock's extensive creative library and suite of AI modification tools give SMBs the power to create and iterate on scroll-stopping visuals that generate real business value. To learn more and get started, visit ai.istockphoto.com/vmr.