Most Americans who use ChatGPT plan to buy its stock, and the number is higher than you'd expect

Most Americans who use ChatGPT plan to buy its stock, and the number is higher than you'd expect

If you use ChatGPT, there's a decent chance you've wondered whether you could own a piece of it. According to a new Motley Fool survey of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted on June 2, nearly 7 in 10 Americans (69%) who use AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude daily say they plan to buy shares in OpenAI, Anthropic, or both when those companies go public. The bigger surprise: The main reason most Americans won't buy isn't distrust of AI; it's that they've never heard of one of the companies.

Roughly the same percentage of individual investors is ready to buy shares when those companies go public, the same survey found.

A sign of confidence in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and Anthropic, the developer of Claude, is that many intended initial public offering buyers plan to stay invested through the initial volatility that often surrounds offerings: 21% of those who intend to buy plan to hold their shares for five or more years.

Investors should be aware, however, that enthusiasm is concentrated, and whether it broadens before these IPOs price is an important factor. A potentially promising sign is that the Americans who aren't planning to buy are largely not AI skeptics. They simply don't know enough about OpenAI and Anthropic - yet. As both companies raise their profiles through the IPO process, that pool of potential buyers could grow substantially.

Both AI leaders are now officially on a path to public markets. OpenAI confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 8, 2026. Anthropic filed confidentially a week earlier, targeting a fall offering.

The two companies are racing to define an emerging category of public AI companies, but they are not starting from the same position with individual investors. OpenAI's consumer recognition built through ChatGPT gives it a substantial advantage: 71% of Americans are familiar with OpenAI, compared with 45% for Anthropic. That gap shows up directly in purchase intent: 20% of all respondents plan to buy OpenAI shares only, 6% plan to buy Anthropic shares only, and 21% plan to buy both.

The Motley Fool broke down its 2026 AI IPO Survey to explain the reasons Americans want to buy shares in OpenAI or Anthropic, and why others are hesitant to do the same.

Key points

• 69% of frequent AI tool users and current stock investors plan to buy OpenAI or Anthropic shares.
• Long-term investment intent is strong, with 21% planning to hold shares for over five years.
• 32% cite unfamiliarity not skepticism as the reason for not buying at IPO, indicating potential growth in investor base.

People who use ChatGPT or Claude daily are as likely to want the stock as active investors

Demand for the OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs is concentrated among people who already use AI products and own stocks. For investors trying to assess whether these offerings have broad interest and if they will be met with durable demand or just early enthusiasm, that profile is an important consideration.

• 69% of Americans who use AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude daily or nearly daily plan to buy OpenAI or Anthropic shares, the same percentage as among current stock investors, according to The Motley Fool's survey. Product familiarity and financial market participation drive IPO intent at roughly equal rates.
• Among people who have previously bought IPO stocks, intent to buy OpenAI or Anthropic shares climbs to 85%, the highest of any group in the survey. That is 38 percentage points above the general population.
• Millennial investors show the highest intent to buy OpenAI or Anthropic shares at 54%, while baby boomers show the lowest at 30%. Gen Z comes in at 49% and Gen X at 42%, consistent with broader generational investing trends and attitudes toward AI stocks. The generational pattern tracks AI tool familiarity: younger Americans use ChatGPT and Claude more frequently and are more likely to have formed a view of their long-term value.

Individual investor demand for these IPOs is driven by people who already know these products and already own stocks, not by a broad wave of first-time buyers.

Whether OpenAI and Anthropic can continue to grow awareness and product adoption leading up to their IPO's will be a key signal for investors. OpenAI's consumer reach, built through ChatGPT, gives it a head start with individual investors that Anthropic, which has focused on enterprise customers, has not yet matched.

Most people planning to buy OpenAI or Anthropic stock say they're in it for years, not a quick flip

A common concern around high-profile tech IPOs is that individual investor demand is driven by hype rather than conviction, and as a result, investors who buy around IPO are looking to quickly flip shares. The survey data tells a different story when it comes to Anthropic and OpenAI. Most people planning to buy shares when those companies IPO frame it as a long-term bet on AI, not a short-term trade, and their planned holding periods reflect that.

• 39% of prospective OpenAI and Anthropic IPO buyers cite belief in AI's long-term growth as their primary reason to invest, and another 25% point to confidence in each company's potential, according to The Motley Fool's survey.Together, long-term conviction accounts for nearly two-thirds of reasons cited.
• Americans who use AI tools daily are even more likely to be driven by long-term conviction: 43% cite long-term AI growth as their motive to invest versus 28% among light or nonusers. People with direct product experience are translating that into an investment thesis.
• Only 15% of prospective buyers plan to invest because they think the stock will pop on day one, and just 13% cite fear of missing out, the survey found.Another 8% say they are buying because it feels like something everyone will invest in. Speculative and trend-driven reasons account for roughly 1 in 3 prospective buyers, which is a real but not dominant motivation.

For investors assessing whether early individual investor demand will hold after a potential day-one run-up, those findings may offer reassurance.

How long prospective investors plan to hold shares is another measure of conviction that could calm the nerves of those looking to buy and hold for years to come.

• 21% of prospective OpenAI and Anthropic IPO buyers plan to hold shares for five or more years, and another 15% plan to hold three to four years, according to The Motley Fool's survey. An additional 27% plan to hold one to two years. Current stock market investors who plan to buy show slightly longer holding intentions than first-time buyers, at 39% versus 31% planning to hold for three or more years.
• Only 5% of intended OpenAI and Anthropic investors plan to sell within six months of the IPOs.
• Younger generations show higher intent to buy but shorter planned holding periods than older generations, per the survey. Gen Z has the second-highest purchase intent at 49%, but only 15% plan to hold for five or more years. Baby boomers show lower intent at 30%, but 28% plan to hold five or more years, the highest share of any generation.

Even intended Anthropic and OpenAI investors have concerns worth tracking. Their top worry is that AI stocks could be in a bubble, cited by 21% of prospective buyers, followed by 19% who worry AI valuations are too high relative to what can be drawn from the limited financial information available on the companies. Both have filed confidentially, meaning prospective buyers won't see full audited financials until closer to each offering.

That information gap drives concerns over valuation. Investors should watch what both prospectuses - the financial reports companies submit to the SEC prior to an IPO - disclose about revenue trajectory, cash burn, and path to profitability. Those disclosures will shape how individual investors price risk in both offerings.

The biggest reason people won't buy OpenAI or Anthropic stock is that they've never heard of one of them

Among Americans who don't plan to buy OpenAI or Anthropic shares at IPO, the top reason is lack of knowledge about the companies, not distrust of AI or concerns about valuation. That is a surmountable obstacle, which, if tackled leading up to the IPOs, could expand the number of potential investors.

• 32% of Americans who don't plan to buy OpenAI or Anthropic shares at IPO say they are not familiar enough with Anthropic or OpenAI to invest, according to The Motley Fool's survey. This is the largest stated barrier, cited more than the potential cost of shares, general reluctance to own individual stocks, or concern about valuations.
• Only 13% of those who intend to sit out the IPOs say AI stocks are generally overvalued. People with more investing experience are more likely to scrutinize valuation: Among people who have previously bought IPO shares but do not plan to buy these IPOs, 31% cite overvaluation as the reason why, the highest of any nonbuyer subgroup. Active investors sitting out show the same pattern: 28% cite AI overvaluation versus only 8% of noninvestors.
• Only 8% of Americans believe individual investors benefit most from IPOs, while 30% say wealthy individuals do, per the survey. Another 17% say institutional investors capture most of the gains from IPOs, and 14% point to early employees and insiders as the biggest winners. Even among people who have previously bought IPO stocks, only 16% think individual investors gain the most when they buy shares around an IPO.

Among those not planning to buy Anthropic or OpenAI at IPO, 25% say they would consider purchasing shares of either company within a year of listing. The Americans least likely to buy these IPOs slammed the door shut; they simply want more information or haven't begun to consider investing in them.

For those watching individual investor demand as a signal of long-term support for these stocks, that distinction suggests the ceiling for investor demand is higher than what the survey data captures.

Three things the survey data says about what comes next for OpenAI and Anthropic's IPO

There are three clear takeaways for investors from Motley Fool's 2026 AI IPO Survey.

1. When it comes to OpenAI and Anthropic, individual investor demand is concentrated, but significant, and more patient than a traditional high-profile tech IPO might suggest. Brand recognition, AI usage, and IPO investing experience are major drivers of investing intentions.

A positive sign is that more than a third plan to hold for three or more years, and only 15% are motivated to buy to try and catch a day-one pop.

Whether that patient capital shows up at the actual offering will depend partly on what both prospectuses reveal about financials that aren't yet public.

2. Product familiarity is a leading indicator of individual investor intent. The gap between OpenAI and Anthropic in purchase intent traces closely to the gap between ChatGPT and Claude in consumer recognition, among survey respondents.

Investors should watch how Anthropic's public profile develops through its IPO process. If its enterprise growth story reaches individual investors who are unfamiliar with the company, the interest gap could narrow meaningfully before shares price.

3. The largest pool of potential buyers has not yet said no on principle. The 32% of Americans who don't plan to buy Anthropic or OpenAI at IPO and cite unfamiliarity as their reason are not AI skeptics. They are undecided.

As both companies become more visible and as more Americans engage directly with their products, individual investor participation in these IPOs could grow well beyond what the current data captures.

That sets up the potential for a blockbuster pair of IPOs this fall, as Anthropic and OpenAI race to capitalize on investor demand for shares of market-defining AI companies.

Methodology

The Motley Fool's 2026 AI IPO Survey was designed to measure how American adults think about the expected OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs: whether they plan to buy shares, why or why not, how long they plan to hold, and how they feel about AI as an investment category.

The survey was conducted via Pollfish on June 2, 2026, and included 2,000 American adults ages 18 and older. To ensure results reflect the U.S. adult population rather than just people who seek out surveys, Pollfish reaches respondents through apps and websites they are already using, rather than through opt-in survey panels, which helps reduce the self-selection bias common in online research. Results were weighted to reflect the age and gender breakdown of the U.S. adult population, using U.S. Census Bureau benchmarks.

Generational definitions used throughout: Gen Z (born 1997-2012), millennials (born 1981-1996), Gen X (born 1965-1980), baby boomers (born 1946-1964). Questions with routing logic (where only certain respondents received follow-up questions based on their prior answers) used the answered-only group as the base for any percentages reported.

This story was produced by The Motley Fool and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

Copyright 2026 Stacker Media, LLC

This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM.