AI-Powered Excire Search 2026 Aims to Redefine Lightroom Workflows

Sep 17, 2025

Kate Garibaldi

Pattern Recognition Company (PRC) has released Excire Search 2026, the newest version of its AI-powered post processing plugin for Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Designed to streamline the workflow for photographers and videographers, the Excire Search 2026 plugin introduces dedicated AI culling tools, an integrated search panel, intelligent focus detection, and video organization features, while maintaining the AI-driven search and categorization tools of previous versions.

A computer screen displays a photo management program. One window shows a grid of various photo thumbnails, all while another window shows an enlarged image of a smiling person with glasses, with a green square framing their face.

AI-Powered Culling for Faster Selection

One of the standout features in Excire Search 2026 is its configurable AI-powered culling system. Photographers can group images by scene, content, or subject, then sort photos based on eye sharpness, face sharpness, overall image clarity, or aesthetic ratings. Users can also apply selection and rejection flags automatically, helping them quickly identify the best shots from a large batch. By reducing the manual sorting process, photographers can spend more time on creative decisions and less time managing files.

A computer screen shows Adobe Lightroom with a pop-up window for keyword search. Photos are displayed in a grid under the Library module, and various keyword, color, and filter options are visible in the search window.

A computer screen shows Adobe Lightroom with a "Search by Text Prompt" window open. The search term is "A surfer riding a tall wave," and photo thumbnails of various landscapes and ocean scenes are visible in the background.

A computer screen shows Adobe Lightroom Classic with a “Search by Example Photo” dialog box open, displaying options to find images by photo content or color. Thumbnails of various photos are visible in the background workspace.

A Redesigned Excire Search Panel

The plugin introduces a new Excire Search panel that integrates directly into Lightroom Classic. The panel can be displayed as a compact toolbar for quick access or expanded into a full window with image preview capabilities. Users can check face sharpness and confirm subject identity at a glance. This interface redesign is intended to make Excire’s AI tools more accessible during the editing process, without disrupting the normal Lightroom workflow.

A screenshot of Adobe Lightroom’s “Search for People” feature showing a photo of a smiling person with headphones and a tablet. Various face recognition filters and search options are visible on the window.

A computer screen shows Adobe Lightroom’s “Search for Faces” window over a beach sunset photo, allowing users to filter photos by age, gender, and smile, with 2448 photos matching the selected criteria.

A computer screen shows photo management software with a pop-up window titled "Search for Duplicates." Various portrait and landscape photos are visible in the background grid.

Expanding Into Video Management

Excire Search 2026 adds AI-powered support for video organization. By analyzing a representative frame from each video file, the plugin can automatically generate keywords, making videos searchable and easier to categorize alongside photo collections. This allows users to maintain a unified media library within Lightroom Classic, eliminating the need to manage photos and videos separately.

Alongside the new features, Excire Search 2026 continues to provide the full suite of AI search and organization tools introduced in earlier versions. Users can perform natural-language (prompt) searches, similarity searches, face and people searches, and duplicate detection. Automatic keywording and intelligent aesthetic ratings remain central, helping photographers quickly tag and categorize images without tedious manual input.

A computer screen shows Adobe Lightroom Classic with the "Smart selection" dialog open, allowing the user to select images based on people, sharpness, and other attributes. Photo thumbnails are visible in the background.

Screenshot of Adobe Lightroom displaying a culling project setup window over a grid of engagement photos, with various options for grouping and selecting images shown in the dialog box.

A computer screen displays a photo gallery grid with multiple rows and columns of colorful images, including portraits, landscapes, flowers, murals, beaches, cityscapes, and various travel scenes.

Privacy and Local Processing

Excire Search 2026 emphasizes user privacy by running all AI analysis locally on the user’s computer. Files are never exported to cloud servers, and data is not accessed by third parties, allowing photographers to retain full control over their images. Additional improvements include support for HEIC and PSD files, faster processing of panoramic images, and the option to use a second database for larger collections.

Practical Benefits for Photographers

The combination of AI culling, focus detection, and video management provides tangible benefits for photographers managing large catalogs. Portrait and event photographers, in particular, can quickly flag sharp images of subjects and remove out-of-focus frames. Videographers benefit from automatic keywording for video clips, making it easier to locate footage without manually reviewing every file. The plugin is designed to save time while keeping users in control of creative decisions.

Three basketball players in red jerseys pose for a photo. One holds a trophy, another makes a peace sign, and faces are highlighted with yellow rectangles. A sidebar shows detected faces and cropped headshots on the right.

A nighttime cityscape shows tall, brightly lit skyscrapers behind a waterfront. A pier with railings leads toward the city, illuminated by small lights, reflecting on the calm water below. Editing software tools are visible on the screen.

Pricing & Availability

Excire Search 2026 is available for both Windows and macOS beginning September 17, 2025. The full license is priced at $199, with a limited-time launch discount of $179. Existing users of Excire Search 2022 and 2024 can upgrade for $99 and $69, respectively. A 14-day trial version is also available.

Image credits: Pattern Recognition Company