Etsy has introduced new restrictions on how sellers can use AI. The rules cover listing photos and functional guides such as patterns, recipes and instructions. James Osman, who leads customer operations at Etsy, announced the changes in a video, and the company has also published an updated Seller Handbook article.
Every Etsy listing must now include at least one unedited photo of the actual item, shot against a real background.
The rest of the photos on an Etsy listing also have to show what the buyer will receive. Flaws and damage can’t be hidden, and edits can’t make the item look different.
Print-on-demand, digital, customised and made-to-order items have their own requirements, which Etsy covers in its updated listing image requirements policy.
AI editing is still allowed on the other photos. Etsy sellers can use it to adjust lighting and colour, crop, resize or swap backgrounds, as long as the item itself isn’t changed.
When sellers upload new images, the Etsy listing form will flag any it detects as AI-generated and point them to guidance on the photo rules. Etsy plans to extend these checks to photos on existing listings over time.
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Live Etsy listings that don’t meet the new rules will need updating. If a buyer opens a case because an item is materially different from its listing, the seller may have to cover the refund.
Etsy has also banned AI-generated functional guides. Patterns, recipes and instructions must now be the seller’s own work. Each of these listings also needs at least one real photo of something made using the instructions.
AI-generated art is still allowed on Etsy, provided the seller plays a clear creative role. Sellers must disclose AI use in the listing description, and can’t present AI work as handmade or wholly their own.
Etsy first set out its position on AI in July 2024. At that point it allowed seller-prompted AI art with disclosure, but banned the sale of AI prompt bundles.
Etsy is also investing more in detecting and removing content that breaks the rules. Buyers will get a specific option to report misleading AI imagery, and Etsy is looking at ways to show them more context about AI use.
