Etsy has implemented a ban on the sale of recipes, patterns, and instructional guides created entirely by artificial intelligence. This policy change, announced in a company blog post, applies immediately to both new and existing listings on the marketplace.
The new rules mandate that sellers of instructional downloads must provide evidence of a finished product. Listings are now required to feature photos of an actual item created using the instructions, rather than AI-generated simulations of the final result.
While fully automated content is prohibited, Etsy will continue to permit AI-assisted creative work. Sellers must disclose any use of AI in their process and maintain a genuine creative role in the product, while being restricted from labeling such items as handmade.
The company introduced these measures to address buyer dissatisfaction and declining trust. Craft sellers reported sales drops of 30% to 50% between 2025 and 2026, attributing the decline to an influx of low-quality, AI-generated instructional content.
