AI Supercharges Lightroom Classic with Excire Search 2026

Pattern Recognition Company (PRC), the AI firm behind the acclaimed Excire software, has just unveiled Excire Search 2026. This latest version of its Lightroom Classic plugin is poised to redefine how photographers and videographers manage their media libraries.

The new release introduces a powerful suite of time-saving features, including AI-driven culling tools, a redesigned Excire Search panel for an improved user experience, intelligent focus detection, and AI-powered video organization capabilities.

These additions complement the existing robust toolkit that users have come to value, which includes natural language search, similarity search, comprehensive people and face recognition, duplicate detection, and automated keywording.

A New Era of Intelligent Media Management

For Lightroom Classic users seeking a faster and more intuitive way to organize, find, and select their best shots, Excire Search 2026 offers indispensable new capabilities. The highlights of this version are set to significantly streamline professional workflows.

Key Features of Excire Search 2026

• AI-Powered Culling Tools: The new culling module allows you to group photos by scene or content, sort them based on eye sharpness, face sharpness, or overall aesthetics, and even automatically apply flags based on your custom criteria.

• Integrated Excire Search Panel: A completely new, user-friendly search panel integrates directly into the Lightroom Classic interface. It can be used as a compact toolbar for quick access or expanded into a full window with image previews for more detailed work.

• Advanced Face Sharpness Detection: The search panel instantly assesses whether faces in your photos are sharp or blurry. You can also zoom in to preview faces up close, making it easy to confirm focus and identify subjects at a glance.

• AI Organization for Videos: Excire's powerful AI now extends to your video library. The plugin analyzes a representative frame from each video, automatically applying relevant keywords to make your video files just as searchable as your photos.

• Unmatched Image Search: Continue to leverage Excire's cutting-edge AI for photo retrieval. With prompt-based search, similarity search, and people search, you can find any image buried deep within your Lightroom catalog instantly.

• Automated Keywording and Duplicate Finder: Let the AI do the tedious work of keywording. Excire analyzes your photos and videos upon import, applying relevant tags automatically. A powerful duplicate search tool also helps you clean up your catalog and free up valuable storage space.

• 100% Local AI and Privacy: All analysis is performed locally on your computer. Your data is never uploaded to the cloud or accessed by a third party, ensuring your privacy and giving you complete control over your files.

Additional upgrades include support for a second database for data storage, improved handling of panoramic photos, and direct support for HEIC and PSD files.

Price and Availability

Excire Search 2026 will be available for both Windows and macOS starting September 17, 2025. The plugin can be purchased directly from the Excire website.

The software is available for a one-time fee of $199, with a special launch discount bringing the price down to $179. Current users of Excire Search 2022 and 2024 can upgrade for $99 and $69, respectively. A 14-day free trial is also available for those who want to test the features.

To learn more, please visit the official Excire website at www.excire.com/en/excire-search.