‘Buyers aren’t yet opening their wallets’: AI-generated assets are flooding marketplaces, but consumers are snubbing them for human-made products
In 3D model marketplace CGTrader, AI-generated assets made up one-sixth of newly uploaded models, but just 2.6% of sales.
Consumers are growing weary of AI-generated assets on online marketplaces, leading companies to take notice. A year ago, CGTrader, a popular 3D model marketplace, began allowing designers to upload AI-generated assets for purchase alongside those they created themselves. The site boasts more than two million 3D models, essential for architects, video producers, game designers, and other creatives to build their products around.
However, having more AI-generated products on the platform does not guarantee their popularity, as buyers still favor human-made goods. According to a recent CGTrader report, despite one in six models uploaded to the platform being AI-generated, those assets contributed only $1 out of every $90 in generated revenue and 2.6% of sales.
The report suggests that while AI is rapidly entering the marketplace, buyers have not yet opened their wallets for it. CGTrader CEO Dalia Lasaite attributes this to the fact that buyers value high-quality products, which they tend to prefer when shopping at marketplaces. As AI adoption grows, consumers' attitudes toward the technology, particularly its application for creative uses, have become complex.
A 2025 Stanford University study found that when participants were presented with an online marketplace featuring both AI-generated and human-produced art, they gravitated towards the AI-generated pieces. However, a recent Pew Research Center poll found that half of Americans prefer a painting less after learning it was created by AI.
Dennis Zhang, a marketing professor at Washington University, suggests that the rise in AI-generated products in marketplaces reflects more than just people's feelings about AI. It also hints at the role AI could play in the broader economy. According to Zhang, while AI enables more creators to design more apps, the lack of experience in AI-generated apps results in lower quality, leading to consumer apathy.
Consumers may prefer human-added value and scarce products, which can shape the future of how automation integrates into work and society.
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