Etsy is cracking down on fake AI listings. Here's what changes

Happy Sunday! Etsy is cracking down on fake AI listings just as holiday shopping starts, and Pennsylvania now wants AI-made ads to come with a label. Here’s what it means for you, in five minutes.

In today’s 5 minutes

• Etsy now requires a real photo on every listing and bans AI-made patterns and recipes.
• Pennsylvania will make some AI-made ads carry a label, starting December 21.
• AI helpers you can text are popping up for busy families, plus a viral robot duck that’s now a long wait.

Quick trivia

The phrase “artificial intelligence” was coined for a 1956 summer research project at which U.S. college?

• A) Harvard
• B) Dartmouth
• C) MIT
• D) Stanford

Answer at the bottom.

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The big one: Etsy is cracking down on fake AI listings

Ever ordered something online that looked nothing like the picture? On Thursday, Etsy announced stricter rules on how sellers can use AI, to cut down on misleading AI listings. Etsy told sellers that many buyers “can’t tell which items involve AI-generated content,” and that this has become “a top-three barrier to shopping more often on Etsy.”

Here’s what changes:

• A real photo, every time. Every listing must include “at least one unedited photo of the actual item against a real background,” and all photos must “accurately represent the item a buyer will receive.” Sellers can still touch up their other photos, as long as they stay accurate.
• No AI-made patterns or recipes. Etsy is banning AI-made “functional guides,” like crochet and sewing patterns, recipes and instructions. Sellers must also show a real item made from the guide, not an AI picture of one.
• No listings made by bots. Listings created by bots with no person involved are banned.
• AI art is still allowed, with a label. Sellers must say when an item was made with AI, and can’t pass it off as handmade.

The Verge reports that if what you receive is “materially different” from the listing, the seller may be responsible for a refund. Etsy also says it will make it easier to report listings with misleading AI images.

What it means for you: before you buy a holiday gift on Etsy, look for that plain, real-life photo, and read reviews that include buyers’ own photos. If an item says it was made with AI, decide if that’s what you want. If your order doesn’t match the listing, report it and ask for a refund.

Sources: The Verge, “Etsy is cracking down on AI slop listings” · CNBC, “Etsy bans AI-generated recipes and patterns from its online marketplace” · NBC News, “Etsy to restrict AI-generated content in effort to combat seller slop”

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Pennsylvania will make some AI-made ads carry a label

Seen a Facebook ad with food or a product that looked a little too perfect? On Thursday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act into law. It takes effect December 21.

• What needs a label: ads that use content “significantly modified or generated by artificial intelligence” in a way that gives shoppers a false idea of what’s being sold. The label must say the ad “contains content that was modified or generated using artificial intelligence.”
• It can reach beyond Pennsylvania. The Verge reports the law applies to ads shown in Pennsylvania, wherever they were made, so you might spot these labels in other states too.
• What’s left out: parody, satire, commentary, criticism and anything “evidently fictional.” The bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Nick Pisciottano, told CBS Pittsburgh it doesn’t cover political ads.
• Who enforces it: the state attorney general and district attorneys. Law firm Loeb & Loeb says courts can fine advertisers up to $3,000.

Why now? Pisciottano told CBS Pittsburgh they heard from consumer groups representing older people “who were getting scammed because of some of this fake AI advertising.”

What it means for you: a label will help, but no label doesn’t mean an ad is real. Most states don’t have a rule like this, and the law has gray areas. If a deal looks too good, search the seller’s name plus the word “reviews” before you buy.

Sources: The Verge, “Pennsylvania will require labels on AI-generated ads” · CBS Pittsburgh, “Pennsylvania one of the first states to require disclosures on AI-generated ads” · Loeb & Loeb, “A New AI Disclosure Law from Pennsylvania”

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AI helpers you can text like a friend are coming for the family calendar

A new wave of AI helpers doesn’t need its own app. You just text them, like a person. TechCrunch rounded up the most notable ones on Saturday. A few are built for busy families:

• Fambot sends parents a summary every night of tomorrow’s events, to-dos and reminders, like a school uniform or what to pack. You can reply to ask questions or change the calendar. It’s free while in beta and connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook and WhatsApp.
• Ohai turns texts, forwarded emails and voice requests into schedules, reminders and chore plans for the whole family. There’s a free basic option, and family plans start at $9.99 a month.
• Ollie pulls school messages, calendars and to-do lists together and texts you what matters. It has a free tier, and paid plans start at $25 a month.

Many of these helpers can also send emails, make bookings or even buy things for you, so they ask for access to your accounts.

What it means for you: if school emails and sports schedules are burying you, one of these could help. Start small: try a free version with just your calendar before you connect your email. And as we said yesterday, never hand any AI your bank password.

Source: TechCrunch, “Here are the top AI agents that can live in your text messages”

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Quick hit: New orders of the viral $399 robot duck won’t arrive by Christmas

This week, a video of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang playing with a flock of waddling Microduck robots went viral. The little robots sit, “nap” and do somersaults on voice command. TechCrunch reports preorders passed 20,000 by the next day. The robot costs $399 before taxes and shipping.

What it means for you: if you were hoping to put one under the tree, it’s probably too late. The maker’s store now says it “can’t promise Christmas delivery for new microduck orders anymore,” with an estimate of 4 to 6 months for new orders.

Sources: TechCrunch, “Hottest toy for Christmas? Nvidia CEO plays with adorable Microduck robots, 20,000 sell” · Pollen Robotics, Microduck press kit · Pollen Robotics store, Microduck

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Copy this prompt

Holiday shopping season is here. Paste this into any free chatbot, like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude, to plan your gifts without overspending:

Help me plan my holiday gifts without overspending. First, ask me for my total budget, how many people I’m buying for, and a few words about each person, like their age and hobbies. Then make a simple table with each person’s name, a spending limit for each one that adds up to my total budget, and three gift ideas under that limit. Include at least one homemade or experience gift idea for each person. Use plain English.

Tip: chatbots can get prices wrong, so check the real price in the store before you buy.

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One free tool to try: Goblin Tools

Got a chore that feels too big to start? Goblin Tools is a free website of small AI helpers, built mostly for people who find everyday tasks overwhelming. Type “clean the garage” into Magic ToDo and it breaks the job into small, simple steps. Chef suggests a recipe from the ingredients you already have, and Formalizer can make a message sound friendlier or more polite. The website is free with no ads. The phone apps cost a small fee.

Try Goblin Tools

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Trivia answer

B) Dartmouth. The 1956 Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence, organized by John McCarthy, is where the term “artificial intelligence” was coined, and it’s seen as the birth of AI as a field.

Source: Dartmouth, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Coined at Dartmouth”

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Jargon buster

AI slop: low-quality pictures, text or products made quickly with AI, often in bulk. It can look real at a glance but isn’t accurate or useful.

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That’s your five minutes. Enjoy your Sunday!

The Five-Minute AI [email protected]

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