Etsy says it will allow the sale of AI-generated art but not AI prompts (2024)

Online marketplace Etsy has shared an update on the sale of AI-generated goods and its plans to continue "supporting artists through the evolution of art."

The platform will allow the sale of artwork derived from the seller's own original prompts or AI tools as long as the artist discloses their use of AI in the item's listing description.

It acknowledges the inevitable advancement and incorporation of AI tools into the creative process, including editing software. However, it notes, "When artists use these AI tools, they still make creative decisions and contributions to guide the AI and carefully curate the output to produce unique, finished works for sale."

Etsy will not allow the sale of AI prompt bundles, which it sees as crossing a creative line. "We believe that the prompts used to generate AI artwork are an integral part of the creative process and should not be sold separately from the final artwork," the company said in a blog post.

These guidelines are subject to change, Etsy notes, and are in line with evolving considerations about the ethics and environmental impacts of AI.

The relationship between artists and AI has been fraught as the technology remains mostly unregulated. Many new AI companies employ the widespread practice of training their models on existing artwork without compensating the original artists, which threatens the livelihood of all creatives. In April, more than 200 musical artists including Billie Eilish and the estate of Frank Sinatra signed a letter calling AI an "assault on human creativity" that "poses enormous threats" to the future of the industry.