Etsy bans AI-generated recipes and patterns from its online marketplace
Etsy also laid out clearer rules around AI usage on its platform, including barring sellers from creating bot-generated listings without any human involvement.
Key points
- Etsy will no longer allow merchants to sell AI-generated recipes and patterns on its marketplace, the company said Thursday.
- Sellers must show an actual item made using the instructions and include at least one unedited photo of the real product.
- Etsy said AI-generated art remains allowed as long as sellers play a clear role and disclose the use of AI.
Etsy announced Thursday that it will stop allowing merchants to sell AI-generated recipes and patterns on its online marketplace. The company described the move as part of a broader effort to set firmer rules for artificial intelligence on its platform.
Under the change, Etsy is banning the sale of "functional guides" made with AI, including patterns, cooking recipes and instructions. These products are typically sold as digital downloads, such as crochet or sewing patterns, and buyers put in effort to reach a finished product, the company said.
New rules for sellers
Sellers will be required to show an actual item made using the instructions rather than an AI-generated or simulated result, so buyers know what to expect. Etsy is also barring sellers from creating bot-generated listings without human involvement and requiring at least one unedited photo of the real item being sold.
Today, many active buyers say they can't tell which items involve AI-generated content
— Etsy
Why Etsy made the change
In a separate notice to sellers, Etsy said AI threatens to erode trust between buyers and sellers. The company wrote that many active buyers say they cannot tell which items involve AI-generated content, calling it a top-three barrier to shopping more often on Etsy.
Etsy said sellers have raised concerns about their work appearing alongside items that use AI in misleading ways. AI-generated art will still be permitted if sellers play a clear role in what they create and are transparent about it, and they must disclose AI use and cannot present AI work as handmade or entirely their own.
