eBay CEO Jamie Iannone’s new playbook embraces AI tools while blocking AI buyers

Iannone spoke to me from a trading‑card convention in Chicago, just as the company had closed a $50 million chapter from its past and launched a $1.4 billion bet on its future. The former resolves litigation involving former CEO Devin Wenig in which former employees targeted a couple with threats and bizarre deliveries in 2019 because their newsletter was critical of the site. The latter finalizes the acquisition of Depop, a fashion resale site popular with millennials and Gen Z.

For Iannone, who became CEO of eBay in 2020, the goal now is to double down on “non-new-in-season,” a term for the used and refurbished items that don’t compete head-on with e-commerce giants like Walmart and Amazon. 

There’s strong evidence his approach is working: eBay (No. 353 on the Fortune 500) yesterday reported that revenue rose 15% in the second quarter to $3.1 billion while net income rose 51% to $552 million, raising its full-year guidance. 

And though eBay sellers tend to be amateurs, thanks to AI they’re getting access to pro tools, such as the “magical” listing feature that extrapolates details from images. “You just basically hold your phone up to something and AI guides you” on how to describe it, price it, ship it and more, he told me. “When a user uses magical listings, we see 50% more listings per lister in the U.S. and the value of those customers using it is greater, meaning they’re selling more.”

With new technology, of course, also comes new challenges. “We’ve authenticated over 15 million items… to the best of my knowledge, we’ve never had a counterfeit get through,” said Iannone. Third-party AI agents that autonomously scrape sites and buy on behalf of customers could disrupt retail marketplaces like eBay, which may be why the site has banned them. Iannone’s goal is to focus on enhancing the human experience. “It’s why I love days like today where I’m interacting with top sellers.”

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

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