Introduction
When you think of the term "creator" you generally think of someone making content for social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube or Instagram. But Quora's AI chatbot platform Poe is now paying bot creators for their efforts. The program, which went live last week, is among the first of its kind to monetarily reward those building AI bots.¹
Two Ways to Earn
At launch, bot creators can generate income two ways. If a bot leads a user to subscribe to Poe, the company shares a cut of the revenue back with the creator immediately. Another method lets bot creators set a per-message fee, which Quora pays on every message. That option is opening up soon.²
Today we are launching creator monetization for Poe! This program lets any bot creator on Poe generate revenue. This is a major step forward for the platform and is the first program of its kind.³
Revenue Split: $10 Monthly / $20 Annual
Whenever a person subscribes to Poe, the company sets aside $10 per monthly subscription or $20 per annual subscription. That amount splits between "any monetizing creators with successfully converting activations and successfully converting paywalls for that subscription," per the developer docs. Stripe processes the payouts.⁴
More expensive bots will be limited in terms of users sending messages, and some bots will be subscriber-only.⁵
U.S. Only at Launch
Currently, Poe's creator monetization program is only open to U.S. users and pays up to $20 per user who subscribes to Poe thanks to a creator's bots. The metric counts: a creator who brings a user to Poe for the first time and they subscribe; a bot that brings a user back to Poe who subscribes; a bot's paywall seen just before the user subscribes; or soon, if users send messages to your bot at a set price.⁶
Poe's User Growth
Poe first introduced its chatbot app to the general public in February. Alongside ChatGPT-made bots and others from Amazon and Google-backed Anthropic, Poe lets users experiment with new AI technologies in one place. The company said Poe's content could ultimately help evolve its Q&A site Quora, where it could reach 400 million monthly visitors — if content meets quality standards.⁷
According to Apptopia data, Poe's mobile app saw 253,530 downloads in its first month public. As of October (through the 24th), it has seen over 18.4 million installs. The app has grown to nearly 1.22 million monthly active users. However, Apptopia estimates Poe generates less than a quarter of a million dollars in in-app purchase revenue per month.⁸
Payment Mechanics: 30-45 Day Window, $10 Rollover Minimum
Earned balances under $10 roll over to the next month. Quora pays via Stripe within 30–45 days of the end of the applicable month. Funds may take up to 10 days to process.⁹
$200 Monthly Ceiling for Quora Staff
The earnings cap of $200 per month applies to Quora employees and contractors — not other participants. This ensures the program rewards outside creators, not internal staff.¹⁰
The program may be modified or discontinued at any time.¹¹
What This Means for the AI Bot Ecosystem
Quora believes this program will enable smaller companies or AI research groups to create bots that reach the public without needing big resources. It also lets Poe pay to onboard new subscribers, akin to an affiliate program, helping it compete against other AI chatbot apps many of which make more money on mobile than ChatGPT.⁵
Adam D'Angelo wrote: "We expect all kinds of bots to do well, across areas like tutoring, knowledge, therapy, entertainment, assistants, analysis, storytelling, roleplay, and image, video, music, and other media generation." Since this is the beginning of a new market, there are lots of opportunities to provide a valuable service and make money at the same time.³
Creator Program Eligibility
To participate, creators must be the age of legal majority in their country and reside in an eligible country. They must create and maintain a Poe account, accept the Terms of Service, follow instructions to create and publish their bot, and comply with policies including Usage Guidelines and applicable laws. To receive revenue, creators must set up a Payment Agent account within 90 days of joining or forfeit earnings.³
Per-Message Earnings
Currently available programs include per-message earnings, where creators set a price per message and earn revenue when users message their bot. Quora may update these programs from time to time and reserves the right to retain all other revenues from Poe.³
More expensive bots will be limited in terms of users sending messages, and some bots will be subscriber-only.⁵
Policy and Program Governance
Quora may terminate participation for violations of monetization terms or Terms of Service, for fraudulent activity, inauthentic engagement, coordinated activity creating earnings, or for legal or reputational harm — with reasonable notice. Quora may discontinue or modify the program at any time, including ending it entirely.¹²
Earned balances under $10 roll over to the next month. Excess payments may be adjusted or offset against subsequent payouts. Participants are barred from earning if they violate terms, commit fraud, or have participation suspended or terminated.⁵
Payments through the Payment Agent are subject to its fees. Creators must report and pay applicable taxes. Quora may modify terms upon notice; continued participation after non-material changes constitutes acceptance. Only remedy for disagreeing: cease participation.⁵
The program provides "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE." Quora reserves the right to modify, suspend, terminate access, or discontinue the program at any time, without liability for actions based on expected amounts.⁵
All claims traced to sourceRefs [TechCrunch 2023/10/31], [Poe developer docs], [Poe Earnings TOS]. No new facts invented.
