E-Commerce Sites Are Giving AI Access To Your Work
Do you sell on Etsy, Shopify, or another e-commerce platform? AI “Agentic Storefronts” are scraping your data & products and there’s almost nothing you can do. Allow me to explain.
If you currently sell your work on Etsy, Shopify, Squarespace, or a lot of other e-commerce sites, a new thing called “Agentic Storefronts” are scraping your products & data and advertising them for sale in ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and other AI programs.
This is being done without your consent and (clearly the companies are hoping) without your knowledge. Right now Big Cartel is the only e-commerce site I’m aware of that allows you to opt out of this program (and you have to search for how to turn it off).
I found out about this because Shopify was sending emails about this new program. On January 12 of this year, they say that Agentic Storefronts are coming soon and that I can opt out at any time and stating "you're in control."
So, okay. I don’t love it but I can opt out, great. I set a reminder and every day since that email I’ve checked to see if the storefront is active. Today, March 25, I saw that a ChatGPT icon was added to my Sales Channels.
With every other sales channel I can opt out or uninstall. I can opt out of Facebook or Google or a bunch of other platforms. I figure this will be the same. Only there is no “uninstall” or “opt out” button. That must be wrong, I think, and contact Shopify support. After all, I got that email promising that “I’m in control.”
Funny story: I am not allowed to opt out of ChatGPT as a sales channel. That means that ChatGPT, the LLM that regurgitates and recycles information based solely on other people’s work, now has complete access to all of my product images and data AND can use that information to try to sell my work. I am not given a chance to opt out or object. My only option is to leave Shopify (more on that later). I have no recourse.
I am devastated. As an artist, choosing where to sell and show your work is pretty much your only weapon. When that is removed, taken from you by billionaires, well what are we even doing here?
And then I realize; I bet Etsy is doing this too. We all get complicated terms and agreements but I bet they snuck it in there too. So I contacted Etsy support and sure enough they're also using AI tools and they specific that they're linked to ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini.
A quick search confirms that Squarespace does this too. So far eBay isn’t using it, as autonomous checkout is too difficult to maintain security, but that will probably change. My guess is that initially these companies planned to offer an opt-out but realized that sellers would leave en masse. There’s also the slow crash of AI fortunes (like OpenAI discontinuing Sora) that may have forced the tech companies to insist on making it mandatory as a way to squeeze more revenue and usage. Either way, it’s here and it’s being forced down our throats.
Running a small business primarily on the internet has become more and more of a struggle over the past ten years, with every new change chipping away at your income, your soul, and your will to create and share art with the world.
Now GenAI, the very thing that tells me my art and worth are easily replaceable, has access to all my work and can “recommend” my work to customers. All without my permission. So what can I do?
Etsy and Shopify each made up about a third of my sales last year. If I give them up to move to one of the few platforms that lets me opt out of Agentic Storefronts, I’ll lose a huge amount of my yearly revenue. I’ll definitely have to close my studio. I would probably go out of business entirely.
And the point is that I shouldn’t fucking have to. None of this is necessary, none of it helps anyone but billionaires, and yet here we are, small artists & makers being squeezed past the breaking point.
So what can we do as artists?
Well, if you sell on any of these platforms, write them emails, send physical letters, clog up their support boxes with requests to make these features optional. I made this post today because of the folks I mentioned it to, no one knew it was happening. That’s by design; the folks running these companies are evil but not stupid. They know these features are unpopular; that’s why they snuck them in without fanfare or changed the rules behind our back. Maybe, MAYBE, if theres enough pushback they’ll make it optional.
And what can you do as a customer?
As a customer, you can take the extra step to shop directly from an artist or small business.
Don’t buy through Amazon or ChatGPT or any large third party if you can help it. Check out that artist’s website and buy direct from them. Sign up for their email list or subscribe to their social media; I bet they’ll have a sale on whatever you want soon. Or go to brick and mortar stores, craft markets, bookstores, or pop-ups.
I say this over and over again but shopping directly from the people who make things is better for the maker and better for you. It keeps money in your area, and you’re supporting a small business with connections to your community, instead of lining a billionaire’s pocket.
I’m not gonna lie; this hit me hard. I am down but not out yet. If I find a better solution for e-commerce I will let you all know. But please please please please please please shop direct and shop local.
Thank you.
