March 12 (Reuters) - Adobe beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter

revenue on Wednesday, benefiting from strong spending on its portfolio of design products that

boast artificial intelligence features.

The company reported revenue of $5.71 billion, beating estimates of $5.66 billion, according

to data compiled by LSEG.

Adobe reaffirmed its annual revenue forecast and its CEO said the company is "well

positioned to capitalize on the acceleration of the creative economy driven by AI."

Analysts and investors are watching for when Adobe will be able to ramp the monetization of

its generative AI products, as it invests heavily in distinguishing itself from rivals by

infusing sharper AI editing tools into its vast portfolio.

In an attempt to break ahead of an increasingly competitive market, Adobe has been

aggressively integrating AI into its software to boost the appeal of products such as Photoshop,

which is used by professionals across a variety of industries.

Last month, the company said it will bring versions of its Photoshop app to mobile phones to

boost accessibility and drive more subscriptions.

Mobile operating systems from Apple ( AAPL ) and Alphabet's Google have managed to

introduce many features from Photoshop into their own devices, such as adjusting colors, or

removing objects from photos.

Analysts say this move could help Adobe break into a more casual and vast non-professional

user base, strengthening its position against other mobile alternatives like Picsart, InShot, or

Photoroom, among others.

The company forecast second-quarter revenue to be between $5.77 billion and $5.82 billion,

in line with analysts' expectations.

It reported digital media revenue of $4.23 billion for the first quarter, above analysts'

estimates of $4.19 billion.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $5.08 per share, compared with estimates of $4.97

per share.