Etsy bans AI-generated recipes and patterns from its marketplace

Etsy will no longer let merchants sell recipes, patterns, or instructions created with artificial intelligence. The ban covers a product category the company calls “functional guides,” and it is part of a broader effort to tighten AI rules across the marketplace. Etsy announced the change Thursday in a blog post. The rules apply immediately to both new and existing listings, and they are also laid out in the company’s Seller Handbook. What Etsy is banning, and what it isn’t The targets are digital downloads that tell buyers how to make something. That includes knitting, crochet, and sewing patterns, cooking recipes, and assembly instructions. Sellers of these products now face a new burden of proof. Listings must show an actual finished result made from the instructions, not an AI-rendered simulation of what the result might look like. The ban is not a blanket rejection of AI. Etsy will still allow AI-assisted creative work, provided sellers disclose that AI was involved and keep a genuine creative role in the product. There are limits on that, too. Listings generated entirely by bots are prohibited, and sellers cannot present AI-assisted items as handmade. Why functional guides go...