Report Suggests Nearly No One Is Buying AI Generated Goods

Skip to content

AIAi slopTechTencent

By

Zack Kotzer

Published August 16, 2026

Comments (20)

𝕏

Copied!

Like tears in the rain. Time to die.

AI has proliferated on just about every digital platform imaginable, with many major firms stoking those flames. Despite this, the long-term audience for AI generated media has yet to be established. While the swamp of slop can be hard to wade through, nothing illuminates like the hard numbers. And according to a new report, sales on AI goods have not improved despite making itself unavoidable.<br>CGTrader, one of the longest running marketplaces for 3D assets, recently published its annual report of trends and growth. The site lets users buy and sell their models for use in games, animation and 3D printing, even for commercial purposes. As highlighted by 404 Media’s Emanuel Maiberg, approximately a sixth of new items for sale are generated by AI. Despite all the new sellers, there are nearly zero buyers, as just one percent of sales went towards these items.

"Our goal isn’t to increase the volume of AI-made assets on the marketplace," CGTrader CEO Dalia Lašaitė tells Maiberg. "It’s to give designers better tools to work faster and focus more of their time on creative work. Ultimately, buyers will choose the assets that best meet their needs. The distinction that matters most isn’t whether an asset is AI- or human-generated, but whether it meets the required quality standard."<br>According to the report, surveyed buyers cite quality as the main reason they skipped AI generated goods. The survey also found that only five percent of buyers were satisfied with AI purchases, and just four percent of overall users think AI “works well.” My gut also tells me that, if the end product is just a few prompts away, why would anyone buy something you didn’t actually make.

While the report illustrates a pretty strong consensus from their user base, it does complicate some of the wheeling and dealings at CGTrader. Last March, the site penned a deal with tech giant Tencent to streamline their AI initiatives into the market, as well as refine user-made models. It may turn the site into a showroom for AI rigs, but sales suggest those models are all collecting a lot of dust.<br>CGTrader is far from the only company forced to talk about AI through both sides of their mouth. Every major platform seems to be simultaneously investing millions into AI proliferation, while having to trim the resulting monstrosities from public consumption. This only exacerbates the core issue that none of these AI companies have figured out how to turn a profit, but that won’t stop them from making it your problem.

🕹️ Level up your inbox

Don’t miss the latest reviews, news and tips. Sign up for our free newsletter.

Sign me up

Leave this field empty if you're human:

You May Also Like

Culture

Saber CEO Apologizes To Rideshare Writer Involved In AI Controversy After Weeklong Crashout

Hopefully putting a fork in this embarrassing stitch, Matt Karch delivered a private apology to the lead Rideshare "Stimulator" writer subjected to his stinky, snarky rant

By

Zack Kotzer

Published August 15, 2026

CultureNews

Saber CEO Denies Replacing Rideshare Writer With ChatGPT But Says ‘I Would Frankly In Retrospect Have Been Happy To Replace Her With AI’

Matt Karch said a missing Steam disclosure will be added eventually

By

Ethan Gach

Published August 13, 2026

CultureNews

Twitch Is Now Using Your Content To Train Amazon AI Models And Has Hidden The Option To Opt Out

"If it was opt in, nobody would opt in," admitted the streaming site's chief product officer during a livestream

By

Zack Zwiezen

Published August 12, 2026

CultureNews

Epic Sells ArtStation And Users Are Already Thrilled: ‘Free From Epic And Their Love Of AI Slop’

ArtStation also stated in a social media post that it is 'hopeful about what this next chapter could mean' for the platform

By

Lewis Parker

Published August 12, 2026

CultureNews

No Man’s Sky Studio Director Says He’s Not Rushing To Experiment With AI: ‘Let’s Just Enjoy Making Games The Way We’ve Always Made Games’

Sean Murray compared the AI race to the post-COVID return-to-office plans

By

Ethan Gach

Published August 10, 2026

CultureNewsIndustry News

Rising Cost Of PS5 And Xbox Is ‘Not A Good Thing,’ Says Take-Two CEO, But He Doesn’t Think It Will Hurt GTA 6

The publisher expects launch to go as planned despite the repercussions of the AI boom

By

Ethan Gach

Published August 9, 2026

Latest news

You Can Now Download The Duskbloods Beta And People Are Already Going Wild Over The Menu Music

LEGO Back to the Future Time Machine Is Cheaper Than Ever, Making This 1,872-Piece Build a Steal

Readers Are Freaking Out Thinking Wattpad’s Updated Explicit Content Policy Is A Smut Ban

This New Factory Sim Is Exploding On Steam, And I Can Totally See Why

Nidhogg Designer’s Mash-Up Of Pac-Man And Vampire Survivors...