Etsy’s new CEO cracks down on AI listings—and buyers start to return
Source: Fortune ·
Kruti Patel Goyal is tightening AI rules while also using the technology to fix search and flag violations.
From the source
Etsy’s new CEO is fighting a flood of AI-generated junk with a surprising weapon: more AI. When Etsy launched in 2005, the arts and crafts marketplace quickly won a cultlike devotion from sellers and buyers alike for its “keeping commerce human” ethos and its focus on small vendors with original products. But with time, the Brooklyn-based company’s quest for growth resulted in an influx of listings of products that were not genuinely handmade or unique—or at least didn’t appear to be. Many items listed were resold products shoppers would see on other online marketplaces like eBay or Poshmark, or mass-produced at some overseas factory. A more modern scourge amplified Etsy’s challenges: artificial intelligence. AI-generated art and bot-created listings have eroded many buyers’ trust in Etsy and dulled the personality of the site that had been its secret sauce. Etsy’s active-buyer count peaked at around 93 million in 2023, then fell to 86.5 million by the end of 2025. Etsy sellers have…