AI generated products are showing up across online marketplaces in growing numbers, but buyers are not exactly rushing to pay for them, according to Fortune. The pattern points to something close to AI product fatigue, a reluctance among consumers to purchase algorithmically generated goods even when those goods are cheap and readily available.
The 3D model marketplace CGTrader offers a clear example. AI generated models now account for roughly 1 in 6 uploads on the platform, yet they bring in just $1 for every $90 in total revenue, about 1.1 percent of sales. Only 2.6 percent of all sales on the site come from AI generated assets. Surveyed buyers were similarly unimpressed: just 5 percent found AI generated models adequate, while 20 percent said they were not. CGTrader's CEO summed up the gap plainly, saying AI is entering the catalog rapidly, but buyers are not yet opening their wallets for it.
Broader consumer research tells a similar story. A Stanford study from 2025 found that users initially gravitated toward AI generated art, but Pew Research found that 50 percent of Americans liked a painting less once they learned it had been made by AI. A more recent Pew survey from 2026 found 52 percent of adults say they feel more concerned than excited about AI's expanding presence in daily life.
Dennis Zhang, a marketing professor at Washington University, has studied the effect in software as well. He found that coding agents like Claude Code and Codex helped drive a 160 percent increase in new app launches by April 2026, but apps with fewer than 10 reviews saw a significant drop in engagement, suggesting users are less willing to invest in products they suspect were built largely by AI with limited human involvement. Zhang's read is that consumers increasingly value products where a human hand is still clearly present, seeking out what he calls human added value rather than rejecting AI outright.
Taken together, the data suggests AI is not so much being rejected by consumers as it is being downgraded, treated as a lower value alternative unless paired with visible human craftsmanship, a distinction that is starting to show up directly in what people are willing to pay.