eBay is adding AI content to some listings, inserting it between the ByItNow button and the shipping details as viewed on a desktop browser.
The AI is grabbing random text from the description and inserting it there.
The problem is that its creating false statements to the buyer.
As a example I am selling a part for a larger machine. I need to list the specifications of the machine that the part fits in the listing so buyer can determine if they have the same machine.
eBay’s AI is copying text that applies to the machine and duplicating below the BuyItNow button in way that gives buyers the impression than this applies to the actual part.
In this case eBay’s AI is stating that the part never requires lubrication when in fact it applies to the machine’s motor. The part in fact requires lubrication - grease - in order to work without excess wear.
Sellers should consider adding a disclaimer to their listings regarding any AI content eBay is adding to their listings!
I’ve not seen this either on eBay [US]. I keep AdGuard running but turned it off and viewed a few of my listings - there’s a lot of sponsored ads before the description, but no place with actual text between the Buy It Now and shipping details area.
eBay is doing this to random listings. So far all the listings are modern era products or older products with well known brand names. So far I’ve not seen the AI do this with any antiques, vintage items, books.
I do not use AI for any of my content as all listings are uploaded with GS.
If you read eBay’s user agreement it says the seller is responsible for all listing content, including content generated by AI tools; however, this is not a tool I want to use or approve of - eBay is altering the listing page content on their own.
Thanks! I sell 99% in antiques and vintage items so I don’t see the AI notes being added. I am checking everything not in Antiques to be certain ebay isn’t messing around.
I have noticed it with kitchen appliances, lighting, and a few other non-media categories. Much of the time the text just repeats what is in the listing title. One item, a brand new ceiling light still in the box, says “hardwired power source” - which I did not put in listing description but it is one of the item specifics that was filled in when scanning the UPC in GS. [and it is true, but it seems like an odd thing for ebay “AI” to generate]. I am going to use my Twitter account to DM askeBay as that is the quickest and best-est way I have found of getting a human customer support person to help with a problem. If they tell me how to disable this feature, or give me info about how one can’t, I will post an update.
I contacted eBay on this several times as the AI is giving potential customers the wrong impression about a part in that it is saying the part never requires lubrication, but that information doe snot apply to the part, but references the motor on machine that the part fits.
Crooked sellers can use this as an excuse to file claim since the part in question does require lubrication to work properly.
eBay’s response three times was that it was my fault and that if I don’t this to happen I can remove the text the AI was copying. That makes no sense as this would be like listing a part for a car but not being able to say what vehicles the part fits.
The fourth time they said they would file a ticket, which means they will be doing nothing.
When Ground Advantage was introduced by USPS eBay removed the ability to set individual carrier discounts and instead sellers were forced to set all carriers to either commercial or retail pricing. It took them over a year to fix this!
eBay’s attitude can be summed up in the word “condescending”.
So far the conversation I’ve been having with an eBay rep via DM on twitter - they have not been given any info about this feature rolled out this weekend so they are not yet sure how one can disable it. They are very quick to reply and have elevated my case so hopefully someone who knows about this feature will be able to tell me how to opt out. It is not a setting on eBay’s website that I could find, after looking at every page of settings.
They just sent another follow up message stating I should edit the listing.
They still think I am talking about the AI in the description that can be enabled and edited when a listing is created or updated.
Total incompetence!
eBay’s left hand does not know what its right hand is doing.
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Interesting to note that the AI terms have little icon on the left with a magnifying glass over a document. That would suggest they may being making these clickable in the future to search eBay for the phrases displayed by the AI. Presently the icons do not have links attached to them.
I use their twitter support as they are much, much better than any other support I’ve tried with eBay. You can include screenshots and example listings and they pay attention and understand. Unfortunately they do not know anything about this new feature as it was not told to any support staff from what my conversation has revealed. The person I am chatting with has gotten in touch with a higher level engineer and said she would get back to me within 72 hours, but also to reach out again then to make sure there has been progress on the issue. We shall see. But yeah, use AskeBay on Twitter. I have a twitter account only so I can DM them support issues.
As expected the reply I received form eBay after telling them that the issue had nothing to do with the AI in the description was that I should remove the text from the description so that their AI does not use it.
My God these people are STUPID BEYOND BELIEF!
They literally could care less!
Standard eBay response to get rid of you. Their higher engineer is the guy in the next booth at the Indian call center.
Standard eBay Operating Procedure:
24, 48 or 72 hour reply by email, eBay message or call that never happens.
Playing phone tag, passing you from department to department when its just another person in the same call center.
Hanging up on you.
Disabling your ability to send messages or call them.
Telling they need 2 minutes to research and then when they come back they saying nothing want to know if you are still there and then say they need another 2 minutes.
In one example I had them send a call back on one account and they said they needed to do research. While representative was gone he was talking to me in a chat for another account.
You and I have had very, very different experiences with eBay, clearly. I’m in the US, and use their twitter support exclusively, though they have called me to get technical details. I’ve been working with them for weeks with an issue that they recently fixed and I’m sure others were also involved with complaining about it [the breadcrumbs moving from the top of a listing page to the bottom where infinite scroll rendered it useless].
I’ll keep after them for the AI generated box and see where it leads me - but so far all issues I’ve had, with the lone exception of their 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch product dimensions bug, have been resolved. [I, and 11 other eBay sellers have been in private discussion about this and plan to bring it up again, as it truly is a bug and there is in fact a solution for this].
Anyway, I just try to be kind to them and for the past many years, that has worked well for me. Hopefully this AI auto generated text will be controllable much like the FB Marketplace feature is. But regardless, GS can’t do anything to disable it, so discussion of it here probably doesn’t make much sense.
Actually it does make sense as sellers need to update their terms stating that such content is being placed on the listing without the seller’s consent and is unreliable.
eBay not even updated its own TOS to address AI content being added to the listing without the knowledge of the seller as the current TOS only addresses AI content the seller chooses to add as part of the listing form. It states the seller is responsible for all AI content the seller chooses to add via these tools. But the auto generated AI content is not a tool the seller has any control over. But of course eBay will claim you’ll be protected by their nonexistent seller protection program.
Now have them fix their final value fee scam on shipping they have been running since 2010, literally ripping consumers off for billions.
The cost of labels can easily be verified through eBay and third party label providers so that eBay would only charge for any overage. Third parties such as PirateShip is easily accomplished by adding additional API calls. Retail purchased labels would likely get no such credit unless USPS would modify its API used with its retail scales. So has FVF on shipping lowered shipping prices as eBay had the gall to claim?
Gee, you must not have been working on restoring the ability to have different discounts for each carrier as that took them over a year to fix. The fact that they removed it in the first place tells you how incompetent they are.
How about adding fractional dimensions to the listing form so eBay can actually show correct rates to buyers instead in inflating price, some to the point where buyers would never buy the item as packages are being charged dimensional rates when they do not qualify for such. eBay’s rounding practices violate USPS regulations.
Rule No. 1 is to not believe anything eBay employees state.
