Etsy tightens rules on AI-generated listing images and text

Etsy has updated its seller policies to limit misleading uses of artificial intelligence in product listings. The rules, enacted in October, cover listing images, recipes and instructions that are partly or fully AI-generated.

Listings must include at least one unedited photo of the actual item on a real background. That image does not have to be the listing’s first photo. For print-on-demand products, Etsy allows unedited manufacturer mockups as the product photo. Images for audio and digital downloads must also avoid misleading buyers.

Some AI image editing remains allowed: sellers can use it to adjust lighting or exposure, resize images, or generate a background, provided the actual product is unchanged. Etsy prohibits using AI to alter a product’s color, condition or features.

Instructions, patterns and recipes must be written fully by the seller and include an image showing the real result, such as a finished knitted item or loaf of bread.

Etsy says it is investing in tools to identify authentic and misleading images and remove listings that use AI to create fraudulent inventory. It is also adding misleading AI imagery as a reporting category. Sellers with existing AI-generated or AI-edited listings will have time to update them; Etsy says it will provide guidance before enforcement.