Etsy introduces new seller policy with AI-generated item guidelines

Etsy changes its seller rules to make it easier to distinguish between human and AI-made items. It does this by adding new labels and stricter rules in response to growing concerns about generic and AI-made products.

Etsy has been dealing with a lot of generic “junk” and AI-made products on its platform. On Tuesday, the service changed its rules for sellers and added new labels that make it clear if a seller designed, sourced, or hand-picked an item.

In its seller policy, this is the first time it has talked about AI directly. It also includes clear rules about what the site does and doesn’t accept.

These are the new Etsy Creativity Standards. They say that sellers must clearly label the more than 100 million items on the site to show how much “human involvement” went into making them. The new labels are in the item’s description, which you can find under “Item Details.”

For example, if a store owner sells old items, they should label them as “handpicked.” The word “sourced” should be on craft and party supplies.

Conversely, the “handmade” label indicates that the seller, using a 3D printer or Cricut machine, created the item.

The new “Designed” label is likely a response to the increasing popularity of AI-made goods in a market previously dominated by hand-made items.

Since Etsy started to accept AI art a few years ago, it has gotten a lot of negative feedback from traditional artists. AI programs can create art that resembles the work of artists. Despite ethical concerns, the service uses this technology.

The company says in its Seller Handbook that sellers can “use their prompts along with AI tools to create the art they sell on Etsy.” The item must be labeled that says “Designed by.”

This lets buyers know that the item they’re buying may have been designed with generative AI, an outside production partner, or other digital tools.

The company cited examples such as an AI generator creating a fantasy scene based on a seller’s original prompt or inputs, or creating a custom portrait of a buyer’s pet using AI tools. “If a seller makes an item with AI, they have to say so in the listing description.”

AI-Prompt Listings Now Marked as Spam

There is a new rule on Etsy that says sellers can’t sell AI prompts. However, they can still use AI tools to make things they call “seller-prompted AI creations.” You’ve probably seen a lot of listings, like “10,000 Midjourney Prompts,” “Ultimate ChatGPT Prompts Pack,” and others like these.

Starting today, Etsy will mark these listings as spam and remove them, according to a spokesperson.

During Etsy’s first-quarter earnings call, CEO Josh Silverman reassured investors and sellers that the company would continue to work hard to keep “commerce human.” Silverman says that Etsy took down four times as many listings that broke its handmade policy as it did the year before.