Some more of ebay's Magical AI!
Most sellers probably agree that space "above the fold" in a listing is valuable space.
Well, ebay has apparently decided that it's the perfect space to show off the value of its Magical AI---
I don't know if this is a test or something new, but I'm seeing this sort of thing now. Thanks, ebay!
46 comments
redmodelt
·1 year agoMost sellers probably agree that space "above the fold" in a listing is valuable space.
In advertising I was told it was to the right of the fold. 🙂
a_c_green
·1 year agoI notice that eCommerceBytes has picked up on this story (and this thread) now:
https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2025/7/1752843283.html
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@a_c_green
Interesting to see OP received a mention.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@adamcartwright If Ina had paid me for everytime she's quoted me in her blog, I would be rich! (Well, I guess that depends on how much she paid for each quote.... Lol)
paxilill
·1 year agoWhen tech ran out of ideas they gave us what we really wanted AI aka trash tech that no one really wanted. I chuckle that eBay wants to get sellers to use AI descriptions so they can roll the dice on an item not as described case.
bbcardzman
·1 year agoAI = Absolute Insanity
steve_stuff
·1 year agoAI thinks it's "Easy to use" - no it isn't, I spill half of the water out just carrying it to the freezer.
AI = amazingly inaccurate.
When christmas and easter fall on the same thursday in June I'll start using AI
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoCripes - these CEO types are like drunken sailors when it comes to AI - inebriated and clueless.
valueaddedresource
·1 year ago@chapeau-noir I hear eBay's still serving free daily happy hour at the on campus pub right next to the building where all the c-types have their offices so....you're probably not wrong. 😂
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@valueaddedresource @chapeau-noir
A lot of companies are trying to apply AI everywhere, and ebay is no different. I just try to accept that they are going to do this no matter how foolish some of it is. I just wish in ebay's case they'd stop talking about "magical AI". Or , if they must talk about magic, let's distinguish between Samantha's magic (chatGPT maybe) and Aunt Clara's magic (ebay).
zakstreasuretrove
·1 year agoYeah, no kidding. I'm saying, what if eBay puts these claims on your listing without you knowing or after the fact? That's the point here. I don't use AI in my listings at all. EVER.
valueaddedresource
·1 year ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques - these are my kind of bots. 😂
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year agoI would love to watch the ebay Open opening session , but recorded with the MST bots down front and center, commenting on the show....
valueaddedresource
·1 year ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques don't give me any ideas. 😂
These guys would work well too, considering Jordan Sweetnam's self-professed love of all things Muppets.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@valueaddedresource Hey, you can't blame me for trying....the blog might go viral if you did this! Of course, the downside: the speed at which the cease and desist order arrives would be a wonder to behold.....
the-hook-and-the-loop
·1 year agoWhen is A.I. going to start making some purchases? That's the real question!
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@the-hook-and-the-loop
Actually, "agentic AI" can do that now. And I think ebay is working on it for buyers to use.
What could possibly go wrong?
valueaddedresource
·1 year ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques correction - the AI companies and others who desperately need investors to buy their AI hype *claim* that "agentic AI" can do that now. 😂
Not picking on you, just really really tired of the world at large mostly just taking all the hype at face value, especially where eBay is concerned. 🙄
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@valueaddedresource Absolutely correct. AI can do some things well, but it is overhyped for sure.
Of course, I remember when the World Wide Web was being sold to us as "The Information Superhighway" ...all the knowledge of mankind, all the wisdom of the ages available with the click of a key! And it would bring us all together in one big family of mankind!
I look around and see something remarkably different.
But not at all unexpected.
a_c_green
·1 year ago...plus the flip-side of that, which is that whenever something goes wrong these days, it's automatically blamed on AI, even when there is no remote possibility that it could have been involved, or is even relevant to the problem (e.g. for glitches that have gone un-fixed for years).
valueaddedresource
·1 year agoAs far as the usage of the space, remember that when eBay showed mockups of what the View Item Page redesign is eventually supposed to look like, it appears their plan for making good on that promise to move the description above the ads is to make it a summary that has to be clicked on to view the full description (like the current app experience) - and that summary will apparently be AI generated.
So prepare yourself for even more magical AI to come!
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@valueaddedresource "So prepare yourself for even more magical AI to come!"
I am just tingling with anticipation LOL
As I said, it would be nice if ebay would give us some space in that area of the page so that we could highlight what we feel---based on actual knowledge, not AI's "magic"---deserves to be highlighted.
There was a time I would have tried calling in devon or someone, maybe suggesting a few things, asking them to forward them to the appropriate team.... but I've pretty much given up even the slight hope I used to have that ebay will respect seller insights.
Seeing this sort of thing is just one more reason I have such low expectations about any announcements ebay will be making at the Open.
valueaddedresource
·1 year agoAgree @my-cottage-books-and-antiques - I've found over a dozen examples so far and they all appear to be drawing directly from the seller provided Item Specifics and Description, so while it's obviously debatable whether the AI is choosing the best/most relevant details to highlight, at least so far I haven't seen any examples of wildly inaccurate info.
Just a couple examples:
dhbookds
·1 year agoIf it's on your listing............YOU are responsible. Need to check listings for inaccuracies....
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@dhbookds
But how would you correct an inaccuracy?
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@adamcartwright For what it's worth, this AI is probably drawing from the description (and perhaps Item Specifics), so, IF you are using AI, make sure to review and change any inaccuracies BEFORE posting your listing.
I am frankly not very concerned about the INAD aspect of this....in part because I don't use AI for my descriptions, but also because this stuff is probably just repeating stuff found in the description or IS, which I already know I am responsible for.
I'm more concerned about how superfluous this seems to be...the space now being taken up by these inane AI "insights" could be put to much better use. It just seems ebay, like most every other company on the planet, feels the need to say "Ooooh! Look! We're using AI!"
zakstreasuretrove
·1 year agoAre sellers still responsible for false AI claims that eBay attaches to their account, or is this something the seller has to choose to put on their listing?
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@zakstreasuretrove As far as I know, ebay puts this there, whether the seller wants it or not. I'd be happier if ebay told us they were reserving that space for us to choose what we'd like to highlight about our item.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoSellers have been considered 100% responsible for anything in the actual listing, including AI generated content.
This is a new weird thing, though, which the seller had no knowledge of it being placed on their listing and did not get to approve it, so I would hope there would be some consideration for that. I don't know how that would be handled if it generated incorrect information in an area of the listing like that, and then the listing was reported or the buyer filed a NAD claim. I will be watching to see if anyone reports such an issue on the boards, though.
gator08041971
·1 year ago@zakstreasuretrove
And that's how you learn that Ai is not always as helpful as you think it is.
And it appears to be something eBay is doing without consent or desire of the seller for the moment. As for whom to blame, we already know the answer to that one. It will be the sellers, even though the seller's know its eBay's fault.
If we have an option to not have an Ai involved, I don't see it. But it would be something many would want to be able to turn on or off for their listings. Even individually.
As for me, its a hell no. I prefer to control my listing content directly. I don't want Ai doing it for me.
meme6253
·1 year agoGreat question!, Answer is most likely.
whatmorefabric
·1 year agoI had some crepe fabric with fruit on it.
The AI generated description said delicious to eat.
ed8108
·1 year agoFrom reading the above, to help minimize confusion , perhaps eBay should caution buyers not to place reliance upon the accuracy of everything stated within a listing
m60driver
·1 year agoYes indeed, I do need AI to tell me that ice cube trays are easy to use, durable and reusable. Thank you Ebay AI for setting me straight. But maybe it is because I am an old fart who does not have an automatic ice maker in my fridge.
stephenmorgan
·1 year agoWell maybe it is directed towards younger people who have never used anything except a Ice Maker and may not know what the item is used for. Sort of like how a young person will see a landline telephone and may say, my grandpa had one of those, what is it for?
a_c_green
·1 year agoI was watching a film not too long ago -- I'm thinking it was "The Holdovers," set in 1970 -- where the teenage character is making a call on a rotary-dial payphone, and after watching his dialing technique, mainly just nudging the dial partway around a few times, my only thought in that scene was, "No one has shown this kid how to operate a rotary phone." 🙄
liawri-75
·1 year agoWe should be able to edit or delete. That should be our right.
valueaddedresource
·1 year agoNice catch @my-cottage-books-and-antiques ! I'm seeing it on a few items across a few different categories too, though not sure what may or may not trigger it.
It looks like it's mostly just pulling details from Item Specifics and Description and while I agree in the one's I've looked at it definitely doesn't add really valuable info, at least so far I'm not seeing anything wildly inaccurate or obviously hallucinated so....at least that's something. 😂
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year ago@valueaddedresource
I wonder if they are only applying it to listings where the seller has used ebay's AI to generate the description? That would at least make some sense.
So, probably not the case. LOL
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques I just checked some of our listings (in an incognito window, to make sure they weren't hiding it from me but showing it to customers), and I didn't see any on the listings I checked, but I can't really check them all. We don't use AI generated descriptions for anything, so there's a chance that's a factor. Wouldn't guarantee it though.
eze-right1
·1 year agoOff subject, if I use AI for my photos and descriptions, do views decrease?
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year ago@eze-right1
I have no idea how it would affect views. Anecdotally, I have seen many posters on these boards say they will not purchase items that have AI descriptions (photos are rarely mentioned, but I would assume the same). I personally avoid it for anything related to our eBay listings.
winterpalace25
·1 year agoAs a shopper, if I see the sappy AI descriptions, I usually move on. I know that's not really reasonable, but I find the language so irritating and it is my gut reaction. It is refreshing to see a real description written by a human, and not a flowery restating of the item specifics.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year agoJust saw this one, on an ice cube tray: "Perfect for All Occasions"
Good to know I won't need to buy separate ice cube makers for each holiday...Thanks, ebay AI!
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP1 year agoBy the way, one ice maker I looked at had an AI notation: Great for making ice.
It's that sort of extra information that makes AI so invaluable.
ed8108
·1 year agoI suspect eBay believes this likely will help to increase sales