Etsy announced new rules on October 22, 2026 that ban AI-generated sewing patterns, recipes and how-to guides from its marketplace. Most listings must now also show at least one unedited photo of the real item. The changes aim at a problem Etsy's own buyers raised: they cannot tell which items involve AI.

According to Value Added Resource , Etsy says that confusion is "one of the top three barriers" stopping buyers from shopping more often. AI-made art is still allowed, but only when the seller discloses it.

What Etsy now bans

The new rules name what Etsy calls "AI-generated functional instructions." Value Added Resource lists what that covers:

Craft patterns for knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery, quilting and beading

Recipes

Woodworking and construction plans

Instruction manuals and other task guides

Crypto Briefing describes the same ban as covering recipes, patterns and how-to guides sold as digital downloads.…