The Biggest Mistake Artificial Intelligence (AI) Investors Can Make Right Now Is Selling. Here's What I'm Doing Instead.
The Biggest Mistake Artificial Intelligence (AI) Investors Can Make Right Now Is Selling. Here's What I'm Doing Instead.
Will Healy, The Motley FoolThu, April 9, 2026 at 8:05 AM UTC
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Key Points -
Investors should focus on stocks that are the top players in a given AI market.
The downturn can be a buying opportunity, especially if investors approach it in the right away.
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Without a doubt, investors have soured on stocks tied to artificial intelligence (AI) in the last few months. In many cases, the capital expenditures (capex) involved are staggering even for the wealthiest tech companies. Also, AI has disrupted business models, particularly in the software as a service (SaaS) industry, leaving some investors confused as to where they should deploy their capital.
Nonetheless, in most cases, this does not mean investors should sell AI stocks. Instead of panicking, they should take one specific approach instead.
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AI chip schematic.
Image source: Getty Images.
Addressing a key concern with AI stocks
Admittedly, the "don't sell" message comes with a caveat. Investors want to make sure to invest in the top companies in specific niches within AI. If a stock is not No. 1 or No. 2 in a specific AI market, investors should consider selling before things get worse, as advised by former GE Aerospace CEO Jack Welch.
Long-time investors might remember that Alphabet pushed aside search engine competitors like Altavista and Excite in the 1990s. Likewise, e-commerce investors may recall how Amazon outlasted eToys.com and other peers.
Investors should remember that the AI industry has almost certainly led to the formation of companies that are likely to fail in a similar fashion. If they can identify such companies early, they should not hesitate to sell.
How to invest in AI moving forward
However, when it comes to the top stocks in specific AI markets, selling will probably turn out to be the biggest investing mistake one can make.
Grand View Research forecasts that the AI market, which was worth almost $391 billion in 2025, will grow to nearly $3.5 trillion by 2033. That amounts to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of close to 31%. Thus, it is highly likely that the top AI stocks will rise in the long run.
Admittedly, that prediction does not speak to what may happen to AI stocks in the near term. With all of the noise in the market regarding AI uncertainty, conflict in the Middle East, and other challenges, anything can happen in the short term. If that leads to further stock price declines, it will almost certainly lead to many of the less committed shareholders selling. Investors should resist that temptation.
Once they commit to holding, one way they can benefit from the volatility is by dollar-cost averaging (DCA). DCA means that one invests a fixed amount in a given period without regard to a stock's price.
Investors cannot predict a bottom with certainty. Still, with DCA, they can protect themselves regardless of a stock's near-term direction. If prices continue to fall, investing a fixed amount will buy more shares. Conversely, should stock prices turn around, one can know they bought some shares near the bottom.
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In my own case, I am already heavily invested in AI. However, I have also kept cash available, and if I see one of my AI stocks fall to a significantly lower price, I will add a small number of shares, essentially employing a variation of the DCA strategy with irregular buy times.
This has been my approach with CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV). Since it is one of the leaders in AI native cloud, it appears to meet the No. 1 or No. 2 criteria within that specific niche. Also, it has periodically fallen to its lowest levels since just after its initial public offering (IPO) in recent weeks, and I have added a small number of shares at such times.
That strategy offers the benefit of lowering my overall cost basis on the stock. Moreover, it also makes it easier to sell the initial shares I bought at a higher price if CoreWeave recovers and becomes an excessively large percentage of my portfolio.
Ultimately, whether one adds shares at regular or irregular intervals, using the DCA approach should allow investors to buy top stocks on sale. That should benefit investors greatly when the likely recovery comes to pass.
Moving forward with AI stocks
Instead of selling the top AI stocks, investors should use the current sell-off to buy shares at discounted prices.
Admittedly, investors need to remove AI stocks that are not leaders in a given market. However, once an investor has only market leaders left, they have an excellent opportunity to employ DCA investing. That approach allows investors to buy at lower prices while preserving capital in case the market keeps falling.
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Will Healy has positions in CoreWeave. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and GE Aerospace. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Source: “AOL Money”
