The Etsy app in ChatGPT is now live in beta. It’s a meaningful step for us, and part of a broader shift already underway in ecommerce. For a long time, shopping online was shaped by the limits of structured data and form controls: keywords, filters, and a lot of work from the buyer. AI is starting to change that. People can express what they want more naturally, and systems are getting better at understanding intent, context, and taste. This is good news for Etsy: our marketplace is made up of millions of creative items from real people that don’t map back to a catalog or SKUs. We’re testing into conversational search both on and off Etsy to learn in real time how these experiences can help better connect sellers on our platform with shoppers looking for something special. I shared more about how we see this shift here: https://lnkd.in/gjntQaqM
Can’t wait to try this!
Robert Hu
1w
Etsy is uniquely positioned here because creative items are inherently hard to search with traditional filters. Finding a hand-thrown ceramic mug with a specific glaze or a custom pet portrait requires context that keywords can't capture. Conversational search could unlock inventory that was basically invisible before. The gap between what a shopper imagines and what they find just got a lot smaller
Lydia J.
2d
As the owner of The Bead Counter and a consistent Star Seller, I found this discussion about Etsy’s evolving search experience really interesting, especially because many established sellers are currently trying to understand significant visibility shifts on the platform. Since April, my Etsy-generated traffic has declined substantially despite actively optimizing listings and following Etsy’s recommendations over the last four weeks. Views are down 50%, visits down 42%, and orders down 33% during what has historically been one of my busiest seasons. I contacted Etsy support multiple times and was told there are no technical issues or account restrictions affecting my shop, but also that there is no manual review or escalation process for significant visibility declines tied to Etsy search placement. I completely understand that search systems evolve alongside buyer behavior and new technologies, but I’d really appreciate seeing more transparency and support for established sellers experiencing unusually severe visibility changes while these marketplace shifts are happening.
Dear Etsy Support, My shop, SantaEsmeralda, has always tried to follow Etsy’s Creativity Standards and seller policies carefully and correctly. We respect and understand the importance of these rules and are committed to operating fully in compliance with Etsy guidelines. One of our listings was recently removed, and I would sincerely appreciate a second review or guidance regarding what should be corrected. Thank you very much for your support and understanding. Shop Name: SantaEsmeralda
How are you thinking about testing this kind of conversational experience at scale? Really interesting shift, especially for a marketplace like Etsy where intent can be so nuanced. It feels like a very different challenge compared to traditional search, especially with edge cases, hallucinations, and the variability of natural language. How are you making sure it stays reliable without breaking core discovery flows?
Really interesting direction. Etsy feels uniquely well-positioned for this shift since so much of the inventory is nuanced and doesn’t map cleanly to structured data. What I’m curious about is how conversational search evolves once it starts shaping not just discovery, but how sellers choose to describe and position their products in the first place.
Erin Roesler
1w
So inspired by this! It’s great to see Etsy leading the way to make AI work for their small business owners. The sellers who’ve always been hardest to find through keywords might finally have the real advantage, and shoppers get to discover something truly unique. Congrats on the launch!
It only brings up “specific” shops as opposed to all that provide the same product so seems like it would only be an advantage to some and leave others with nothing.
Congrats!!! Can't wait to get wrap my arms around this! When are you planning to do a global launch? Unfortunately I'm in Estonia, so can't play with it just yet.
Can you take away the offsite ads fees sellers are forced to pay for this type of search?