AI is a tool. Slop is a human by-product.

AI is a tool. Slop is a human by-product. Etsy just wrote that into its rules.

The situation: anyone can now make a perfect photo of a product that doesn’t exist yet.

What happened: last Thursday Etsy said most listings now need at least one unedited photo of the product against a real background. Bot-generated listings get removed. Patterns and recipes have to show real results made by following them. James Ossman, its vice president of customer operations, said Etsy has “always been a marketplace that stands for creativity and craftsmanship.” Etsy still uses AI itself, to match buyers with the right sellers.

Why it works: the rule doesn’t ban the tool. It asks a person to stand behind what the customer sees.

The move I’d make: the same rule for a store. One real photo of the real room, the real fixture, the real fabric, before anything goes on the website or the hoarding.

Who signs off on what your customers see before they see it?