Etsy Tests AI Review Summaries - Sellers Say They Hate It
Sellers are not holding back their thoughts on a new test Etsy appears to be running that uses AI to summarize product reviews on the site - in short, they hate it.
One seller took to the r/EtsySellers subreddit to air frustration with the feature, saying it unfairly highlighted a very small number of negative points out of over 1500 reviews.
Other commenters were quick to agree, with many pointing out the contradictory nature of some of the AI ouput and others drawing comparisons to similar functionality on Amazon.
"I’m seeing these everywhere now. Google search results, Amazon. I especially love how contradictory they are in such a few short sentences."
"And yet another step towards Etsy turning into another Amazon. I think these are great if the reviews are about factory made products, but not handmade..."
"I had ONE review say it was smaller than expected (that info is in the description) and yet it gets highlighted. Keep downvoting them and telling them it sucks."
Predictably, Amazon sellers had voiced many of the same concerns about AI review summaries when they were introduced last year.
Liz Morton
After significant seller pushback, Amazon promised they would improve the customer experience and ensure customers continue to see the most valuable content and opinions, but months later sellers say the results are still hurting their businesses.
Meanwhile, eBay continues the march to morph seller feedback into product ratings, and while they have not yet added AI to the mix, it won't be surprising if a similar feature is "on the roadmap" there as well.
The AI review summary is not currently being shown on all items, and like most tests Etsy runs it's difficult to say how they may be choosing when to show it or not, how large the sample size for testing may be and how long the testing will last.
Have you encountered this AI review summary test on Etsy? Let us know if you love it or hate it in the comments below!
