Reading time: 4 minutes
Publication date: March 8th, 2023
If you’re an Etsy seller, you know that competition is frequently fierce. With over 60 million items for sale, it can be a challenge to stand out from the crowd. But what if we told you that you could get help from artificial intelligence (AI)? Specifically, we’re talking about ChatGPT, a language-processing AI model developed by OpenAI. In this post, we’ll explain how to use this state-of-the-art AI technology in your Etsy shop.
First, what is AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) software is a computer program made to emulate how humans think. With AI, machines can make independent decisions, learn from their experiences, even improve on their own. This enables them to perform tasks that once only humans could do. Their purpose is to make our lives easier and more efficient. So, the next time you talk to Siri or Alexa, just remember that you’re interacting with AI in action!
What exactly is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a web-based app that’s been trained on a massive amount of text. The GPT in its name is an acronym for Generative Pre-training Transformer. “Generative models” are a type of machine-learning model capable of issuing new data, such as text, speech, or images.
Simply put, ChatGPT can produce human-like responses to “prompts.” Essentially, you input a query. However simple or complex your prompt, ChatGPT can usually provide an appropriate response.
How can ChatGPT help your Etsy shop?
There are several ways you can employ ChatGPT to do your bidding. Let’s say that you recently created a new product for your shop. Now you are struggling to summon the words to elegantly describe this product. Enter the following query into ChatGPT: “Write a product description about butterfly shaped emerald earrings, using the keywords emerald earrings, butterfly earrings, and gifts for her.” One caveat here is that we highly recommend that you review the generated response to make sure it is factually accurate and worded in a way that makes sense.
ChatGPT will get right to work generating a response based on your request this gives you a starting point for a description you can fine-tune to your exact needs.
Another way ChatGPT can help your shop is optimizing your listing titles. Say you have a listing title you think could be better. Just copy your current title and compose a query. Something like, “Write me 10 alternate Etsy search optimized titles for [paste your listing title here].”
Using AI off Etsy to drive traffic to your shop
One proven way to attract shoppers is by writing articles about your niche. But few Etsy sellers have the time or desire to write blog content. With ChatGPT, you can ask it to write a post on any topic you request. It should yield a well-developed draft. Then just do some fact-checking and fine-tuning to make it your own.
Other AI software to consider
Thus far, we’ve only talked about ChatGPT. There are many other AI platforms designed to accomplish other tasks. For example, the AI tool MidJourney creates images and rendering based on a user-input request. One way we see a tool like MidJourney being useful is as a muse for projects. Let’s say you are a woodworker who could use some design inspiration. Just ask MidJourney! Give it a textual description and it will create an image. This gets ideas going in your head to create something new.
Final thoughts and some caveats
AI technology is still in its infancy. But it’s advancing at a rapid pace! In its current iteration, you won’t be sitting on the beach sipping cocktails while AI does all the work. But Etsy sellers are already using AI to help with shop tasks, both mundane and creative.
Regardless of how you use these emerging AI technologies, it is important to do your due diligence. Whether you are using AI generated text or images, it is important to fact check the sources to make sure what has been generated is factually accurate. Additionally, if you are using image generation AI, it is a good idea to run the generated image through a reverse image search tool like TinEye. This will allow you to make sure none of the generations are direct copies of copyright protected works. With that, enjoy experimenting with these tools and use them as inspiration for your own creations.
If you get the chance to play with it, experiment with it, we’d love to hear about it! Make a post about it in our private Facebook group.