Adobe MAX 2026 runs November 10–12 in Miami Beach and online, and it is the one week a year when Adobe shows where After Effects, Premiere and Firefly are heading. If you work in motion design, most of the conference is not aimed at you, but a handful of keynotes and sessions are worth your time. This guide covers the dates, how to watch for free, and the specific sessions motion designers and editors should put on their calendar.
Adobe MAX 2026 at a glance
- Dates: November 10–12, 2026, with paid preconference courses on November 8–9.
- Location: Miami Beach, Florida, plus a free online program.
- Opening Keynote: Tuesday, November 10, 9–11 am EST (2–4 pm GMT).
- Inspiration Keynote: Wednesday, November 11, 10–11:30 am EST.
- Sneaks: Wednesday, November 11, 5:30–7 pm EST, hosted by Terry Crews according to the MAX Online page.
Adobe notes that the agenda is subject to change, so check the official schedule before you block out time.
How to watch Adobe MAX 2026 online for free
In-person passes cost money, but MAX Online is free. You register with an Adobe account through the “Register for MAX Online” button on that page. The online agenda includes both keynotes, Sneaks and a selection of featured sessions, so you get the announcements on the same day as everyone in Miami.
If you can only watch one thing live, make it the Opening Keynote. That is where Adobe usually announces new features and versions. For After Effects users in particular, Sneaks is worth watching too: it shows experimental technology that sometimes turns into real features a year or two later.
Sessions for motion designers and editors
Most sessions at MAX are about design, photography and marketing. These are the ones that name After Effects or Premiere directly, based on the official session listings and Adobe’s own guide to the AI sessions.
AI for Motion Design: Integrating Gen AI into After Effects
Thursday, November 12, 2:30–3:15 pm EST, with motion designer and educator Eran Stern. Adobe’s session guide describes it as removing friction from your workflow rather than replacing your craft. This is the most directly relevant session for After Effects users.
Build Worlds Faster: A Hybrid AI Workflow in Photoshop
Tuesday, November 10, 5:15–6 pm EST, with creative technologist Don Allen Stevenson III. Although it is a Photoshop session, it ends with handing a fully labeled layered file to After Effects for animation, which is a workflow many motion designers use every week.
Small Teams, Big Looks: AI Workflows for Premium Brand Content
With director AJ Bleyer, scheduled for Tuesday, November 10 at noon EST and again on Thursday, November 12. It’s aimed at small teams producing brand video, and Bleyer also presents “Beyond Content: The Art of Making Better Ads” with Premiere and Firefly in the online program.
Preconference courses (paid)
If you are attending in person, three preconference courses cover motion and video:
- “After Effects: Your Designs in Motion” with Kyle Hamrick, a beginner, all-day lab.
- “Brand Promos: Post-Production Masterclass” with Karl Soulé and John Knowles, covering Premiere and Dynamic Link with After Effects.
- “The AI-Assisted Production Lab: Firefly, Premiere, and After Effects” with Luisa Winters and Eran Stern, at intermediate level.
Preconference courses require an additional fee on top of a MAX pass.
What to expect: AI, again
Expect generative AI to dominate the keynotes once more. Writing about the MAX 2026 lineup, Creative Bloq argued that Adobe is “still going all in on generative AI”, but with a different tone than in 2023, and that much of the program is aimed at marketing directors and agency leads rather than individual artists. Adobe’s own guide to the AI sessions leans the same way.
For motion designers the practical question is not whether AI shows up, but whether it lands inside After Effects in a way that saves time on real jobs. Adobe already has an AI Assistant for After Effects in beta, and MAX is the natural place for an update on it. We will cover any After Effects and Premiere announcements on this blog after the keynote.
How we use AI in After Effects today
You don’t have to wait for MAX to try AI inside After Effects. Our AI Assistant for After Effects is a panel that creates layers, keyframes and expressions from a plain-language prompt, and the result is ordinary After Effects work you can edit by hand. It sits comfortably next to Adobe’s own tools rather than replacing them.
Not every improvement needs AI either. Our free Phone Camera Controller for After Effects turns your phone into a handheld camera rig for 3D layers, and the 2000+ Animation Presets pack gives you finished, eased animations for After Effects and Premiere Pro.
Adobe MAX 2026 checklist for motion designers
- Register for MAX Online with your Adobe account.
- Add the Opening Keynote (Nov 10) and Sneaks (Nov 11) to your calendar.
- Bookmark Eran Stern’s After Effects session on Nov 12.
- Finish any client project before updating to a new version announced at MAX, and check that your plugins support it.
FAQ
When is Adobe MAX 2026?
Adobe MAX 2026 runs November 10–12, 2026 in Miami Beach, Florida, with paid preconference courses on November 8–9.
Is Adobe MAX 2026 free to watch online?
Yes. MAX Online is free; you register with an Adobe account on the MAX Online page.
When is the Adobe MAX 2026 keynote?
The Opening Keynote is on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, from 9 to 11 am EST, according to the MAX Online agenda.
Will After Effects get new features at MAX 2026?
Adobe hasn’t announced specifics. New features for Creative Cloud apps are usually shown at the Opening Keynote, so watch it or check back here afterwards.
Sources
- Adobe MAX Online: agenda and registration
- Adobe MAX 2026 preconference courses
- Adobe blog: Your guide to the AI sessions at Adobe MAX 2026 (September 21, 2026)
- Creative Bloq: Adobe Max 2026’s lineup tells us a lot about the company’s AI priorities (September 26, 2026)
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