An AI company in a Web3 Foundation report said to have generated an estimated value of $136,560 from users’ data alone. Google generated $556 from a US user each year, Microsoft generated $445 and Meta generated $286.
Those numbers all came from a report that looked at 129 companies in advertising, AI subscriptions, enterprise software, data brokerage and digital ecosystems. Researchers screened companies from Forbes Global 2000 2025 and Forbes AI 50 2026.
What Does The Study Say Exactly?
The study’s whole thing is that AI companies no longer rely only on social media activity or search histories. Chatbot prompts, uploaded documents, shopping behaviours, voice recordings and location histories all have some commercial value.
Researchers from the Switzerland based Web3 Foundation estimated that Big Tech and AI companies can earn up to $831,497 from a single American internet user in a 61 year digital lifetime. The report calculated a global inflation linked figure of $124,184 per internet user.
Why Are Chatbot Prompts Suddenly So Valuable?
AI systems need human material constantly; every prompt helps improve how well the chatbot processes and gives out info.
As the Web3 Foundation wrote, “Personal data has become one of the core economic inputs of the digital economy.”
Researchers said data now trains AI systems, supports advertising systems, improves pricing models and increases the value of digital platforms.
The paper explained, “Every search query, location signal, online purchase, social interaction, uploaded image or chatbot prompt can become part of a wider data economy.”
That economy’s success clearly comes from more than just social media platforms. Researchers examined AI subscriptions, API licensing, enterprise software and data resale markets.
One comparison in the report looked at those estimates together with everyday spending. The inflation linked lifetime value of an American internet user roughly matched the price of an entire two new homes in the United States using Q1 2026 housing data.
Why Do People Keep Handing Over So Much Information?
Convenience seems to be more important than privacy for many internet users.
Cookie banners disappear with one click, smart speakers stay switched on all day, fitness apps collect movement patterns and health information automatically and then there’s how AI chatbots encourage people to upload personal info.
The report said users usually have “little visibility, bargaining power, compensation or control” over the commercial value created through their online activity.
Researchers also wrote that information no longer comes only from active users. AI systems can scrape public websites, analyse uploaded material and create inferred profiles from browsing and behavioural patterns.
Web3 Foundation founder Gavin Wood said, “For too long, the internet has operated on an implicit bargain that users do not fully understand: convenience in exchange for surveillance. This report helps expose the scale of that imbalance. The modern digital economy is powered by human data, yet the people generating that value have little visibility, control or participation in the upside.”
What About The UK And EU?
For the UK and Europe, researchers estimated a lifetime figure of $189,470 per internet user. The paper said that amount matched roughly three years of full time earnings using Office for National Statistics income data.
The report stopped short of saying users are directly owed money for their data. Researchers described the figures as a benchmark showing the commercial scale of the online information economy.
Wood said, “Web3 technology can offer a path toward a more equitable internet, where individuals have genuine ownership over their digital lives rather than simply being the raw material for someone else’s business model.”
Bill Laboon, Vice President of Technical Operations at the Web3 Foundation, said, “The internet does not have to work this way. For decades, digital platforms have been built around centralised control, where users hand over their data, identity and value in exchange for access to services.”
Laboon also said, “Web3 represents a fundamentally different model, one where individuals can own their digital assets, verify their identity without surrendering personal information and participate more fairly in the online economy. As AI accelerates and data becomes even more valuable, building a more transparent, user led internet is becoming increasingly urgent.”
The report ended with a question aimed at governments, policymakers, technology companies and internet users. It asked, “If human data creates extraordinary commercial value, why should the humans who create it remain the least powerful participants in the system?”
That’s something we should all think about before giving out our data to all these tech firms…
