Every sixth 3D model is created by AI, but almost no one buys them

3D asset marketplaces are dealing with a flood of AI-generated content that almost nobody wants to buy.

The annual CGTrader report, one of the longest running marketplaces for 3D models, reveals a gap between how much AI-made content is up for sale and how much of it people actually want.

The site lets users buy and sell models for games, animation and 3D printing, including for commercial use. According to the market trends report, roughly a sixth of new listings are generated by AI. Yet those items account for just one percent of all sales.

404 Media journalist Emanuel Maiberg flagged the numbers. The gap between the number of sellers and the number of buyers turned out to be nearly total, even though AI tools have become available to pretty much every artist on the platform.

The main reason buyers give for skipping these listings is quality. Only five percent of surveyed buyers said they were satisfied with an AI purchase, and just four percent of the platform user base think AI tools "work well."

CGTrader CEO Dalia Lašaitė says:

Our goal isn't to increase the volume of AI-made assets on the marketplace. 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.

The platform stance sounds cautious for good reason. Last March, CGTrader signed a deal with Tencent to build generative tools into the marketplace along with features for refining user-made models.

There's a practical angle that explains the flop in demand too. If the finished result is just a couple of prompts away, there's little reason for a buyer to pay for someone else's AI output.

A similar picture shows up on other platforms.

Major services keep pouring millions into spreading generative technology while also having to scrub their listings of what that technology produces, all while AI companies themselves still haven't found a path to steady profit.