Etsy's new AI policy: your listings can train AI.

General information, not legal advice. Etsy's own pages win if anything here differs. Etsy's site blocks automated checks, so we confirmed the Terms wording from a search-engine copy of Etsy's Terms of Use on Oct 31, 2026. Details on the Privacy Policy, Section 6 and Etsy's comment come from Value Added Resource's report (Oct 29, updated Oct 31, 2026).

1. What the new AI wording says

You still own what you post. Etsy's Terms call it "Your Content", and the examples include shop names, profile pictures, listing photos, listing descriptions, reviews, comments and videos. You already give Etsy a broad license to use it: non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual. The update adds this line to that license:

"This also includes the right for us and our third party partners and vendors to use Your Content to develop, train, test and improve artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, including to improve the Services and/or help keep them safe, subject to any applicable opt-out rights described in our Privacy Policy."

Value Added Resource reports that the new Privacy Policy names listing information, product reviews and community posts as examples of content that may be used to train AI, for features like AI-powered listing tools and review summaries (Value Added Resource).

Etsy told Value Added Resource the change is meant to let it improve AI models that strengthen our marketplace in service of our community, like AI-powered tools that make running a shop easier for sellers, surfacing the most relevant items for buyers, and technology that helps detect fraud.

2. Can you opt out?

The Terms say AI use is subject to any applicable opt-out rights described in our Privacy Policy. But Value Added Resource found that neither document gives US sellers a general way to keep their photos and descriptions out of AI training while still selling on Etsy. Sellers in the EU and UK may have extra rights to object to the use of their personal information, though that may not cover every kind of creative content.

Two more things to know, both from the same report:

• The license is perpetual and irrevocable, so deleting a listing or closing your shop may not end Etsy's permission to use content you already uploaded. Etsy hasn't said how it handles that content in AI training.
• Etsy didn't say whether its partners can use seller content for AI products unrelated to Etsy, or whether it was already training on seller content under the old Terms.

3. Outside AI companies can't train on Etsy data

The new Terms also go the other way: third parties can't use content or data from Etsy to develop, train, fine-tune, evaluate or benchmark AI without Etsy's permission, whether they collect it by hand or with automated tools (Value Added Resource).

4. New rules for bots, browser extensions and AI agents

A revised Section 6 covers "automated agents", which includes bots, scripts, browser extensions and AI tools acting for a user or a third party. Under it:

• Etsy can permit, restrict or prohibit agents from browsing, collecting data, interacting with accounts or buying.
• Authorized agents may have to identify themselves and who they act for.
• You're responsible for what an agent you set up or authorize does.

What about Etsy research tools and Chrome extensions? Many seller tools, like eRank, EverBee and Alura, run as browser extensions. Etsy hasn't said how the new rules apply to any specific tool, and we won't guess. If you rely on one, watch for an announcement from Etsy or the tool before Dec 16.

5. Etsy's own AI tools come with a warning

The update adds language saying you should review and evaluate output from Etsy's AI tools before relying on it, and Etsy doesn't guarantee that output is accurate, complete or suitable. If you use an Etsy AI feature to write titles or descriptions, check every line yourself. That fits Etsy's Oct 22 ban on bot-generated listings with no human involvement.

What you can do before Dec 16

1. Read the new Terms yourself. Start with Section 5 (Your Content) and Section 6 (Your Use of Our Services) on Etsy's Terms of Use page.
2. Check the Privacy Policy for any opt-out that applies where you live, especially if you're in the EU or UK (Etsy Privacy Policy).
3. Decide what you upload. If AI training worries you, think about what goes into new listing photos and descriptions. Etsy still requires one unedited photo of the real item on most listings.
4. List the bots and extensions you use with Etsy. You're responsible for what they do on your account.
5. Keep disclosing AI in your listings. None of this changes Etsy's AI disclosure rule. How to word it.

We log every Etsy AI rule change with dates and sources in the Etsy AI rules tracker. For a tick-box version of the listing rules, get the free Etsy AI Disclosure Checklist.