Etsy AI product photos: tools and rules.

General information, not legal advice. Etsy's policy pages win if anything here differs. Etsy's wording below is from its Listing Image Requirements, checked Oct 20, 2026.

What Etsy's image rules say

"…we require sellers to use original photos of the actual product buyers will receive, not renderings or stock photos, except in the situations outlined below."
Etsy, Listing Image Requirements

Etsy's Seller Policy says the same thing in its list of seller requirements: your own photographs or video, "not stock photos, artistic renderings, or photos used by other sellers or sites" (Seller Policy). Etsy's image rules don't mention AI by name. But a fully AI-generated picture of a physical item is a rendering, not a photo of the actual product.

The exceptions, in Etsy's words:

• Print-on-demand (your design on a base item): "If you create an original design (such as artwork or a pattern) that a production partner prints onto a base item (like a t-shirt or mug), you may use a stock photo mockup to illustrate the end product buyers will receive."
• Unique items a partner manufactures (furniture, clothing, a book): "use a real photo of the physical end product."
• Personalized or customized items: "your first image must feature a finished, customized item similar to what buyers will receive." A blank product or a "Your Text Here" mockup can't be the main image, but "Computer-generated mockups may be used in additional listing images to showcase customization options."

So what can you use? Common cases

Etsy's photo specs to set in your AI tool

• Size: Etsy recommends listing photos at least 2000 px wide and tall. The first photo should be at least 635 px wide and tall "to avoid showing up lower in searches."
• Shape: make the first photo landscape or square. It sets the shape for the photos after it.
• File types: .jpg, .gif, .png, .svg or .heic. Transparent PNGs aren't supported: transparent areas show up black on Etsy. So after background removal, export with a solid or scene background.
• Color: Etsy converts images to sRGB. Convert first if your colors look off.
• File size: images over 1MB may not finish uploading on slow connections.

Source: Etsy Help: Requirements and Best Practices for Images.

AI-generated people in mockups

New York's law on AI "synthetic performers" in ads took effect June 9, 2026. It's a state law, not an Etsy rule. Printful's help center, explaining how it applies to its mockups, lists mockups in marketplace listings as "likely in scope," says the person who creates the ad is responsible for the disclosure, and lists penalties of USD 1,000 for a first violation and USD 5,000 after that (Printful Help). Flat lays, mannequins and photos of real people aren't "synthetic performers."

Simple fix (our suggestion): add a line like The model in the product photos is AI-generated. to the description, or a small label on the image.

AI photo tools worth trying

More mockup options, including Printify's free generator, Placeit, Mockey and Dynamic Mockups: best AI mockup generators for Etsy. Need the whole disclosure picture? Get the free Etsy AI Disclosure Checklist.