Even handicraft marketplace Etsy needs AI to compete, says CEO

Silverman during an interview at the Web Summit in Lisbon, on Nov 12, 2024. On this kind of scale, Silverman said, AI is indispensable for anything from policing the products being offered for sale, to making sure the best matches are shown in searches. — AFP

LISBON: The web platform Etsy is famous for selling cutesy handmade arts and crafts, but even a company that relies on a cottage industry of artisans is increasingly undergirded by artificial intelligence, its CEO told AFP on Nov 12.

"You couldn't run Etsy without AI," Josh Silverman said on the sidelines of the Web Summit tech event in Lisbon.