Etsy is asking retailers to clarify how their products show a human touch still leaving room for generated by AI designs.
Etsy releasing New “Creativity Standards” on Tuesday designed to “sustain human commerce.” Sellers are now only allowed to list items they have made, designed, sourced, or handpicked.
According to updated seller's manual, Art created by AI it's still allowed on Etsy as long as sellers are transparent about it.
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Etsy says it will remove items that don't meet these standards.
“While the tools and technologies available to you have evolved, our commitment to keeping Etsy the place to go for original and unique items has not changed,” Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said in a statement. video announcement. 
Credit: Etsy
Effective immediately, Etsy only allows items that fall into one of four categories and requires sellers to use one of the following tags in their listings:
- Made by a seller
- Designed by a vendor
- Sourced from a vendor
- Handpicked by a seller
“Made by” applies to items like handmade jewelry or 3D printed art that sellers create by hand or with their own tools.
“Designed by” allows AI-generated art, driven by vendors, as well as original designs.
“Sourced from” includes items that sellers can customize and print on demand while “Handpicked” refers to vintage items and collections of other items that a seller selects.
Etsy will launch a marketing campaign in the coming days, featuring real Etsy sellers on billboards across the US and UK.
Credit: Etsy
Tuesday's update sees Etsy taking a clear position on AI: the platform will allow it.
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Etsy promises “unique merchandise” from “independent sellers,” a mission that sets it apart from other online marketplaces like Amazon. In recent years, in the age of AIthat mission has been more difficult to define.
In the past year, buyers HAVE noticed The art of AI on the platform, even if vendors are not transparent about its use. A buyer has written in January Reddit post that they bought AI art from Etsy without realizing that AI was used to make the piece. The seller did not mention AI in the description and instead wrote that the art was handmade.
When the buyer tried to return the AI art, the seller pointed to their no refund policy.
The seller refused to let me return the AI item?
BYu/plsanswerme18 INEtsy
Etsy's AI-saturated state has not only made buyers question the quality of Etsy purchases, but has also discouraged the sellers behind the original illustrations from selling on the platform.
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One seller, who has been listing their hand-painted art on Etsy for over five years, noticed in 2023 that sales spiked and their original listings were buried under AI-generated options.
“I (have) been trying to bring my store back to life, but at this point, I'm wondering if I should just throw in the towel,” the seller wrote in September. Reddit post.
Will Etsy ever handle selling AI art?
BYu/happytostartover INEtsy
Another seller wrote in February Reddit post that “the influx of AI, re-prints bought or downloaded for free, and people copying others in bulk seem to have destroyed many markets on the site.”
That seller wrote in an update that they chose to market their original illustrations through their website instead of Etsy.
An Etsy spokesperson told Entrepreneur that “AI is not the driving force behind these updates” and that the changes were “the next evolution in keeping Etsy special.”
For Etsy's updated attitudeAI-generated work that vendors request themselves is still allowed on the platform, while AI request packages are not.
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