AI Use by Wealthy Collectors Jumped from 4% to 22% in Two Years

Use of artificial intelligence among high-net-worth collectors has more than quintupled, rising from 4 percent in 2024 to 22 percent this year, according to the fifth edition of the Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting, published today.

Arts economist Clare McAndrew surveyed 3,100 wealthy collectors across 10 key markets for the 235-page report. The sample is small by global standards, but the wealthiest collectors exercise outsized market influence — and their attitudes are watched closely, especially by those who want to sell to them.

How are collectors starting out?

Family remains the most common entry point into collecting, the report finds: 28 percent of respondents overall and 40 percent of Gen Z respondents began through a family collection or a family member's encouragement.

First purchases followed a traditional pattern:

• 43 percent named a painting among their first three purchases
• 25 percent cited sculpture
• 17 percent cited photography
• 15 percent cited works on paper, and 15 percent digital art

Antiques, jewelry, and gems trailed behind. The report concludes that the common assumption that luxury collectibles lead into art collecting does not hold for this group.

Who gets to see the art?

Nearly two-thirds of collectors prefer to keep their holdings mostly private, sharing them only with family or a closed circle. Just 10 percent seek wide recognition. Museum lending follows the same pattern: 30 percent of lenders prefer to keep loans private, 47 percent request "discreet acknowledgement," and only 17 percent require full public credit.

Gen Z collectors are the most private generation — unexpectedly so. Some 39 percent restrict in-person access to close family, friends, and household, nearly twice the share of any other generation. Another 36 percent restrict online access to private circles.

"Restricting access does not remove a collection's signaling power; exclusivity can be part of the signal," McAndrew said in press materials. "Perhaps surprisingly, the youngest collectors were the most private, both in person and online. Gen Z collectors were the least likely to share details of their collections publicly online, preferring invitation-only spaces, with privacy central to their personal and cultural identity."

She added: "Many purchases are driven less by the conspicuous consumption traditionally linked to the market than by a desire to build connections within close networks, where status comes less from price than from rarity, provenance, originality, and discovery."

What is driving the turn to AI?

Two-thirds of respondents see AI improving artist and artwork discoverability and aiding personal recommendations. Nearly as many rate it useful for provenance and authenticity verification and for pricing and valuation analysis.

Generational differences are minimal: 23 percent of Gen Z use AI tools, versus 21 percent of both Gen X and Boomers. Few rely on digital sources alone — only 12 percent — and just 9 percent depend on a single source. Online press remains the most common resource, followed by apps and AI tools.

Research habits are deepening overall. Nearly three-quarters of collectors now undertake moderate or significant research before buying — market research or consultations with experts and other collectors — up 10 percent from 2025. Among Gen Z, the figure reaches 80 percent.

Who is spending the most?

Gen Z reported the highest average fine art expenditure for 2025 and 2026, outlaying more than twice any older generation. Average spending across all age groups rose 13 percent from 2024 to $124,265 in 2025; Gen Z averaged $347,460, up 19 percent, and that average kept rising in the first half of 2026.

Only 1 percent of these wealthy collectors bought works priced above $1 million in 2025 and the first half of 2026, and about three-quarters spend under $50,000 in total on fine art. Gen Z accounted for 13 percent of those making $1 million purchases.

UBS chief economist Paul Donovan said the survey confirms the Great Wealth Transfer is underway. "Gen Z reported the highest average spending, 40 percent entered collecting through family influence, and almost 90 percent retained inherited works," he said in press materials. "Younger collectors continue to favor traditional media such as painting and sculpture, suggesting that while collecting habits are evolving, aesthetic preferences remain more consistent across generations than is often assumed."

Sentiment runs positive across the board: just over half of collectors expect market growth through the rest of 2026, a similar share anticipates growth over the next 12 months, and 60 percent forecast growth over the coming decade.