CHAT vs BOTZ vs AIS (2026)

If you’re searching for the best AI ETF in 2026, three funds dominate the conversation: CHAT (Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF), BOTZ (Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF), and AIS (VistaShares Artificial Intelligence Supercycle ETF). All three carry the AI label but their 2026 returns could not be more different. One is up over 100%, one is up 73%, and one is down 7%. The gap tells you everything you need to know about how to pick an AI ETF.

CHAT, BOTZ, and AIS all claim the artificial intelligence label. But beneath the shared branding, they hold almost entirely different companies, target different parts of the AI economy, and have produced returns that bear no resemblance to each other. Before putting money into any AI ETF, understanding what it actually owns is more important than what the name implies.

CHAT vs BOTZ vs AIS: Key Facts at a Glance

All data as of 06/24/26.

CHAT vs BOTZ vs AIS: Holdings Comparison

The performance gap starts to make sense the moment you look at the portfolios.

CHAT is a concentrated active fund built around the generative AI ecosystem — the companies building, running, and commercializing large language models. Its top five holdings are NVIDIA (6.39%), SK hynix Inc (5.10%), Alphabet (5.04%), Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC (4.68%), and Broadcom (4.06%). It’s a recognizable roll call of the companies the market most directly associates with the ChatGPT era: hyperscalers, chip designers, and AI application developers. If you want a portfolio that reads like “generative AI,” CHAT delivers it.

AIS takes a different bet entirely. Rather than owning the AI platforms themselves, it owns the infrastructure that AI runs on: semiconductors (SK hynix, Micron, AMD), power infrastructure (Vertiv Holdings, GE Vernova, Legrand), and data center supply chain. The fund’s thesis — the “AI Supercycle” — is that the physical buildout required for AI compute represents a multi-year spending wave that benefits companies well outside Silicon Valley. Its industrial products sector alone represents nearly 14% of the portfolio. AIS doesn’t own the AI. It owns the grid, the memory, and the cooling systems that AI can’t run without.

BOTZ is the oldest of the three by nearly seven years, launched in 2016 when AI meant something very different. Its index tracks robotics and automation companies — physical systems that move, weld, operate, and perform surgery. The top five holdings are ABB (9.81%), Keyence (9.57%), Fanuc (9.00%), NVIDIA (8.51%), and Intuitive Surgical (6.35%). NVIDIA makes an appearance here too, but the fund is otherwise populated with industrial automation names: Japanese precision engineering firms, Swiss industrial conglomerates, surgical robot companies. This is not a software AI portfolio. It’s a factory-floor AI portfolio.

AI ETF Performance in 2026: Why Returns Have Diverged

H1 2026 has been a defining test of which part of the AI economy the market is rewarding — and the verdict so far is unambiguous: infrastructure and software win, physical automation loses.

AIS has been the biggest beneficiary. AI infrastructure spending has accelerated dramatically in 2026, driven by hyperscaler capital expenditure programs and the build-out of inference capacity to support widespread AI deployment. The companies that supply memory, power conditioning equipment, and data center infrastructure have seen earnings revisions move sharply upward. AIS’s +122% is not speculative momentum — it’s tracking actual earnings growth among its core holdings.

CHAT’s +66% reflects the continued strength of the large-cap generative AI ecosystem. The active management gives CHAT the ability to tilt toward winners and away from underperformers in a market moving quickly. It has used that flexibility effectively.

BOTZ’s +1% is the more complicated story. Robotics and industrial automation are not broken businesses — they are long-cycle capital investments tied to manufacturing capex, which has been under pressure in 2026 from tariff uncertainty and slower global industrial output. Fanuc and Keyence, BOTZ’s two largest non-NVIDIA holdings, are exposed to Japanese and Chinese manufacturing investment cycles that have been sluggish. Intuitive Surgical remains a strong business but trades at a valuation that already reflects years of growth. BOTZ is not a bad fund — it’s a fund that tracks a part of the economy that is moving slowly in an environment where AI software and infrastructure are moving fast.

Expense Ratios: CHAT vs BOTZ vs AIS Fee Comparison

All three funds charge similar fees. CHAT and AIS both carry a 0.75% expense ratio — identical. BOTZ charges 0.68%, a marginal discount. On a $50,000 position, the annual difference between BOTZ and CHAT is $35. That’s genuinely noise relative to the performance divergence on display in 2026.

Unlike comparing QQQ vs QQQM — where the two funds are literally identical underlying products — the cost difference here is irrelevant compared to portfolio construction. These three funds are making fundamentally different investment bets. Choose based on the bet you want to make, not the 7 basis point fee gap.

Which AI ETF Should You Buy? The Case for CHAT, AIS, and BOTZ

CHAT: for investors who want pure generative AI exposure. CHAT’s portfolio maps almost directly to the companies that media coverage, earnings calls, and analyst reports discuss when they talk about AI. It’s actively managed, which provides a margin of flexibility that index-based AI funds lack. The expense ratio is high for what it offers — the active portfolio is not radically different from what a tech index would give you — but for investors who want a focused generative AI tilt, CHAT delivers it cleanly.

AIS: for investors who want to own the AI infrastructure buildout. AIS is the most unconventional choice of the three — and in 2026, the most rewarding. Its bet is that AI cannot run without power, memory, and cooling, and that the companies supplying those inputs will see sustained demand for years regardless of which AI platform “wins” at the application layer. This is the AI equivalent of owning picks and shovels during a gold rush. The fund is also the newest (launched December 2024) and the smallest by AUM ($914.4M), which means less liquidity history and higher concentration risk in a young portfolio. Investors comfortable with those caveats have been handsomely rewarded.

BOTZ: for investors with a longer horizon on physical AI and robotics. BOTZ is the contrarian pick. Robotics and industrial automation represent genuine long-term AI applications — warehouse automation, surgical robotics, manufacturing precision, autonomous systems — and the current underperformance reflects a cycle, not a structural collapse. The fund has been around since 2016, has the largest AUM of the three ($3.42B), and is the most diversified geographically with significant exposure to Japanese and European industrial firms. For investors who believe physical automation will catch up to software AI in the next market cycle, BOTZ offers the most established vehicle. It is not a 2026 trade. It may be a 2028 trade.

CHAT vs BOTZ vs AIS: Our Verdict for 2026

For investors who want AI exposure now, with proven 2026 performance: AIS or CHAT. AIS targets the infrastructure layer that is driving actual earnings growth. CHAT targets the application layer where market attention is concentrated. Both have beaten the market significantly in H1 2026, and both make sense for investors with 3–5 year horizons who believe AI spending will continue to accelerate. AIS is the higher-conviction, higher-concentration bet. CHAT is the more diversified generative AI play with familiar names.

For investors who want to diversify across the AI economy: Consider holding both CHAT and AIS rather than choosing one. Their portfolios have almost no overlap — CHAT owns software and platform companies, AIS owns semiconductors and infrastructure. Together, they provide broader AI theme coverage than either does alone.

For investors focused on physical automation and robotics: BOTZ remains the most established dedicated vehicle for that theme. Just go in with clear eyes: this is a different bet than owning AI software or infrastructure. Its return profile will diverge significantly from CHAT and AIS in both directions over time.

Bottom Line: Picking the Right AI ETF for 2026

The lesson from CHAT vs BOTZ vs AIS is not that some AI ETFs are good and some are bad — it’s that “AI ETF” is a label broad enough to cover almost anything. CHAT owns ChatGPT’s closest relatives. AIS owns the power and memory that ChatGPT runs on. BOTZ owns the robots that may eventually run the factories building all of it. The right fund depends on which part of that chain you want to own — and how soon you need it to deliver. In 2026, the market has been very clear about which one it’s rewarding first.

Compare these funds side by side: Use the ETF Comparison Tool: CHAT vs BOTZ vs AIS on ETF.com.

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