Society6 deployed a mandatory human-curated review process for all new design submissions, effective July 22, 2025, replacing a system where artists could publish designs directly without prior approval.

Under the new submission process, all designs enter a 'Pending' status upon submission and are reviewed by Society6's Merchandising team before going live. Curators assess artwork, titles, and tags for quality, originality, compliance with community guidelines (including the prohibition on primarily AI-generated work), and alignment with Society6's brand direction. Curators may also edit titles and tags to improve search discoverability. Designs that do not meet standards are marked 'Declined.' This process replaced a prior self-publish model and was introduced alongside broader platform changes that reduced the number of active artist accounts in early 2025.