How Etsy sellers feel about the new ChatGPT checkout integration

It’s still early days for the partnership; three Etsy sellers told Modern Retail they were unaware of the integration until being contacted by this publication. But nearly all of the sellers who spoke with Modern Retail said that they have already spent time thinking about how AI could transform their business. Two sellers, for example, told Modern Retail they were optimistic about the OpenAI partnership, as they already use AI to tailor their Etsy storefronts. Another two worried that important details — both about the buyer and about their business — would disappear in the ChatGPT shuffle.

“As a marketplace of over 5 million creative entrepreneurs, it’s our job to remove barriers for shoppers so they can easily discover and be delighted by our sellers’ special items,” Rafe Colburn, Etsy’s chief product and technology officer, wrote in a blog post.

ChatGPT checkout, as it stands now, is not in effect for all Etsy products. An Etsy spokesperson told Modern Retail that only sellers who participate in Etsy’s Offsite Ads program will have their listings included in Instant Checkout in ChatGPT. All sellers are “automatically enrolled in Offsite Ads,” per Etsy, although terms and conditions say that “some sellers are able to opt out.” Sellers in the Offsite Ads program have their products advertised across the web, then pay a fee to Etsy when making a sale from one of those ads.

Indeed, a quick test of the Etsy-OpenAI integration found that many goods are not yet available for purchase through ChatGPT. Last week, Modern Retail made multiple queries on ChatGPT, asking for product suggestions like, “Buy Etsy flower vase” and “Buy Etsy dog mug.” Other queries were more specific: “Show me decor for a 70s-themed birthday party on Etsy.” Each time, dozens of Etsy results popped up, but not all offered the ability to purchase those products on ChatGPT. Instead, for many products, a button saying “visit” showed up, and clicking it redirected to a product’s page on Etsy’s website.

An Etsy spokesperson confirmed that any products showing the word “visit” are not eligible for Instant Checkout. Etsy declined to say how many sellers belong to the Offsite Ads program that would enable checkout on ChatGPT, but a spokesperson said that millions of Etsy items are already available for purchase directly through ChatGPT.

Sellers divulge differing opinions

Some Etsy sellers are excited about the ChatGPT integration, believing it could get more eyeballs on their products.

One of them is Marie Amms, who sells mugs and T-shirts on Etsy but also acts as a consultant to other Etsy sellers. Amms, who is based in Illinois, has found that ChatGPT “recommends brands that wouldn’t be found higher up in the traditional Etsy search,” she told Modern Retail. For instance, she said that a cutting board company she advises has been able to pop up quicker in ChatGPT results than Etsy results, simply by emphasizing that its products can be personalized.

When it comes to her own business, Amms says she’s now thinking about ways to tweak her store’s product descriptions and titles to better align with ChatGPT searches. Her mugs, for instance, often feature quotes from shows like “Frasier” and “Seinfeld.” “[In the descriptions] I’ll put in specific wording in quotes related to certain episodes,” she said. “I’ll even cite the episode, because fans of those shows are very specific with what they’re searching for.”

Jennifer Cupp, who sells original paintings and prints on Etsy, is also intrigued by the OpenAI integration. She’s hopeful that shoppers will find her products more easily on ChatGPT than on other search engines. Searches on ChatGPT tend to be more “streamlined” and relevant than on Google or even on Etsy, she told Modern Retail.

“From a seller’s perspective, I like that,” said Cupp, who is based in Illinois. “In ChatGPT, it sticks to what you ask for. If you do a Google search [for a painting], it’ll bring up what you search for, but then it’ll show you 100 other versions, like, ‘Here’s a print, but it’s in a different size.'” Still, when Cupp uploaded an image of one of her Etsy paintings into ChatGPT, and asked it to find that product or something similar, she said her listing did not pop up.

One U.S. Etsy seller, who requested anonymity to speak freely for this piece, told Modern Retail they are concerned about the back end of the OpenAI integration — namely, what information sellers glean from purchases made via ChatGPT. According to Etsy’s Help page, buyers in ChatGPT check out as guests within Etsy. Buyers then have to go in and manually link their Etsy account to leave a review, message the seller or file a support ticket; the seller is afraid this will create extra hoops for Etsy users to jump through.

“As a seller, my business highly depends on reviews,” they said. “I can see why Etsy may see [ChatGPT] as a tool to increase sales, but to small handmade sellers like me, it feels like one more thing to worry about.”

Fran Hurst, who sells jewelry on Etsy and is based in Florida, told Modern Retail that she heard about the OpenAI partnership when watching a business news program.

The commentators, she said, “thought it was great because of the enormous amounts of products on Etsy.” Still, Hurst has some concerns about people finding her products on ChatGPT, much less buying them there. “AI isn’t always correct,” she said. “I make some jewelry using vintage components. AI consistently calls it vintage jewelry. That’s deceiving.”

Taking advantage of AI without losing the human touch

For now, the Etsy-OpenAI integration is only available in the U.S. But sellers in international markets are already taking notice, as they, too, are looking to figure out how to drive more sales from generative AI engines.

One is Bernice Ma, an Etsy seller who makes wax seals. Ma is based in Waterloo and recently attended a conference to learn about how small business owners can better use AI to promote their brands. She’s now trying to optimize her shop and improve product descriptions to up her chances of showing up in results from platforms like ChatGPT.

Ma hopes that Etsy will roll out the ChatGPT purchasing power to Canadian sellers, especially considering the challenges her brand and others have dealt with in regard to tariffs. “The more opportunities we have to showcase our small business, the better,” she told Modern Retail.

Still, Ma wants to make sure that Etsy shoppers aren’t losing out on anything when buying through ChatGPT. For instance, her Etsy site features an “about” page and links to her social media accounts. These provide information about Ma and her store, but these sections don’t come up in ChatGPT results.

“The human touch is such an important part of e-commerce and my small business,” Ma said. “If purchases are made directly through a platform like ChatGPT, some of that personal connection risks being lost.”