Let eBay's AI Draft Your Buyer Replies, But Keep Your Finger on Send
What it is
Since August 2025 eBay has had an opt-in AI assistant inside Messages, shown as an "eBay.ai" toggle, for sellers in the UK and US. When a buyer asks a routine question ("Does it come with the charger?", "When will it post?"), it suggests a reply built from your listing description and the order details. It doesn't look things up on the internet, and eBay says it steers clear of questions about pricing and offers. You can send the suggestion, edit it first, or ignore it and write your own.
Why it matters now
Replying quickly helps you win sales, and the same ten questions come up again and again. As of September 2026 the feature is available on the app and on desktop. The catch is that it can only be as good as your listing. If the answer isn't written in the listing, the draft will be vague or wrong. That makes it a useful test of your listing quality as well as a time-saver.
How to try it this week
- Switch it on. On desktop the eBay.ai toggle is at the bottom left of Messages. On mobile it's in the Messages settings. If you can't see it, check in Seller Hub or the help pages, because rollout can vary.
- For one week, read every suggestion before you do anything with it. Sort each one into one of three groups: sent as is, edited, or thrown away.
- For every one you edited or threw away, write down why. Usually it's because something was missing from the listing, such as dimensions, what's in the box, the battery condition or the postage service.
- Put that missing information back into the listing itself. The next buyer gets the answer without having to ask, and the assistant gets better material to work from.
- At the end of the week, count up. If most drafts went out unedited for simple postage and "what's included" questions, keep it on for those.
Human-in-the-loop checkpoint
Never let a draft go out without reading it, particularly anything about condition, faults, returns, authenticity or compatibility ("Will this fit my model?"). A confident wrong answer about compatibility becomes a "not as described" return. For offers, disputes, cancellations and anything where the buyer sounds upset, write the reply yourself.
Cost and energy note
It's free and runs on eBay's side. If you would rather draft replies with your own AI tool, remember that copying buyers' names, addresses or order details into a third-party chatbot may raise data-protection questions under UK GDPR. eBay's built-in tool keeps that data on the platform, which is the tidier choice.
Pitfalls
- Don't go looking outside eBay for help with messages. Pasting in a buyer's contact details or moving the conversation off-platform breaks eBay's rules.
- Watch your tone. AI drafts can sound stiff. One friendly line added by hand does a lot for feedback.
- Answers about your policies (returns window, dispatch days) should match your business policies exactly. If they don't, fix the policy text, not just the message.
- If you sell in other languages through translation services, check the tone of anything that gets translated.
Sources: ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/news/2025-august/ai-responses | valueaddedresource.net/ebay-expands-ai-responses-messaging/ | ebay.com/help/account/messages/messages?id=4194
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