Olivia Moore on the untapped potential of consumer AI

Moore argues that the current industry reliance on subscription models and token usage is a byproduct of prioritizing enterprise and power users. With only 2.2% of U.S. households currently paying for AI services, she suggests that the path to growth lies in alternative monetization strategies, such as ad-supported tiers, rather than forcing subscription fatigue on the average consumer.

The technical barrier of high marginal costs is also beginning to shift. As companies like OpenAI introduce lower-cost plans and developers increasingly leverage open-source models, the necessity for expensive frontier intelligence in every application is diminishing. This evolution could clear the way for everyday consumer categories—such as dating, travel, and retail—that remain conspicuously absent from current market-leading lists.

Ultimately, the lines between consumer and enterprise software are dissolving. Products like ElevenLabs and Cursor are evolving into majority-enterprise businesses within months of their launch. Moore contends that what the industry currently labels as consumer AI is largely prosumer software, leaving a vast whitespace for developers to create truly mass-market applications that function independently of professional or technical automation workflows.