Key Takeaways
- About 45% of the 139 people who described their own results said AG1 made them feel better, and about 13% noticed nothing at all
- About 40% had a bad reaction, mostly stomach trouble or skin redness and itching, though a lot of those came from threads started to complain
- Most people buy it to fill a gap in a diet with too few vegetables (about 31%) or to swap a handful of pills for one scoop (about 20%)
- About 1 in 3 comments that take a side on the podcast ads say heavy advertising means the product must be overpriced
- Half of the people who name an alternative moved to a cheaper greens powder, and about 28% say just eat more vegetables
About 18,000 people a month search for "AG1 reviews" in the US. The first page of results is mostly dietitians, competitor brands and creators with a discount code. So I wanted to know what people say when nobody is paying them. Turns out, plenty.
The answer is messier than either side of the argument. Plenty of people like it and would keep buying it if it cost half as much, and a smaller, angrier group says it made them sick.
We analyzed 5,006 comments from 218 discussions about AG1 and other greens powders. Of 139 people describing their own results, about 45% said AG1 made them feel better and about 40% reported a bad reaction. Outside threads started to complain about side effects, the share who felt better rises to about 58%.
About this study
- Corpus
- 5,006 public comments from 218 hand-picked discussions about AG1 and other greens powders in 56 communities. We read about 1,050 of them, taken at random from keyword searches for each theme, and sorted them into themes by hand. About 470 said something we could count. Brands, prices, ingredients and safety worries were also counted across all 5,006 comments
- Communities
- Supplement and nutrition forums, biohacking groups, health podcast fan communities, a small AG1-only community, fitness and running groups, creator fan communities and a few gut health and shopping groups
- Themes coded
- Why people buy it, whether it did anything, bad reactions, the podcast ads, what makes people doubt it, and where they go instead
- Analysis
- We sorted each comment into themes by hand, and one comment can fit more than one theme. So the percentages in each section only describe that section and do not add up to 100. Treat them as rough guides rather than exact measurements.
- Quotes
- Word for word, with only broken characters fixed. The wording, spelling and typos are the commenter's own.
Most of these comments are from 2022 to 2024, the years of the lead test and the biggest podcast deals, and about a third are from 2025 and 2026. The busiest places were health podcast fan communities, then general supplement forums. A lot also came from fans of YouTubers and podcasters who took AG1 as a sponsor, and those people mostly talk about the ad rather than the drink.
Two things before the numbers. One AG1-only community had a thread about rashes with over 300 replies, and another about raised liver enzymes. Threads like those account for about a quarter of the people describing results here. So the unhappy side is probably louder than it would be among all buyers, and I'll show the split both ways in section 2. Also, I searched for Bloom, the other big name in greens, and the biggest threads that came back were about things that had nothing to do with the powder. So Bloom is under-counted here (I'm not sure by how much).
Our study of supplement stackers and minimalists touched on AG1 as part of a section on all-in-one products. This one looks at the brand on its own, from why people buy it to where they go when they stop.
The research question
What do AG1 buyers believe they are paying for: nutrition, convenience, a habit, or trust in the people who recommend it? And what pushes them toward cheaper or more open greens powders? The short version: they mostly pay for convenience and peace of mind about their diet, and about half feel something. The price and the ads are what send people looking elsewhere.
1. Why people buy it
Eight reasons, ranked by how often people mention them51 people said why they started taking AG1 or why they keep taking it, and most of them aren't chasing a big effect. They want to stop worrying about their diet.
Small group, so the order is a rough guide. But the top three tell the same story, and it's about effort more than nutrition: people who hate swallowing pills, people who can't face washing vegetables every day, people whose blender broke.
"I'd rather pay 3 bucks a day than wash fruits and veggies 7 times a day to make sure I get enough micronutrients in."
"I struggle with taking large pills and would always forget to take other vitamins but I've stuck with AG everyday (probably because of the cost lol)."
"I started a subscription to AG in January because my blender broke and I couldn't make my regular shake"
I expected the podcasts to sit at the top, because so much of this conversation happens in podcast fan groups. They came fifth. Maybe people don't like admitting an ad got them, or maybe the ad only made them aware and the convenience is what made them buy. Hard to say. And the ritual group is small but it's the one that misses the product most when it's gone.
"First month without it and I miss the ritual of it."
"Drinking it first thing in the morning just feels good makes you feel like you're doing something right."
"I know they get paid to promote the product but I still trust their recommendations."
If you sell a greens powder, your buyer's problem is probably guilt about their diet and too many pill bottles. Better health comes a distant second. So "one scoop, done" and "for the days you don't eat well" may sell better than a list of 75 ingredients. Also, a buyer who sees it as a morning habit is a buyer who stays, so it might help to sell the habit too.
2. Did it do anything?
Four results, ranked by how often people mention themFor this section I took two random samples of comments where people talk about their own time on AG1. 139 of them said how it went, and I counted each person once.
Here's the split I promised. Leave out the complaint threads and 104 people remain: about 58% felt better, 17% noticed nothing, 3% kept taking it anyway and about 22% had a reaction. Big difference. In the complaint threads it's nearly all reactions, which you'd expect. I'd guess the real picture for everyday buyers sits closer to the first set of numbers, but I can't prove that from here.
Among the 63 people who felt better, energy came up most (about 43%), then digestion and more regular bowel movements (about 40%), then a general "I feel better" (about 22%). Fewer colds, better skin, hair or nails, and better sleep each came up in about 1 in 10. And a lot of the happy users hedge it themselves, because they can't tell the powder apart from the big glass of water they now drink every morning.
"I get the same energy boost and regularity of bowel movement I used to with a full coffee."
"It did not change my life or anything but I think it helps keep me on track to eat healthier."
"Been on it for about 1.5 year. Haven't noticed anything haha. But I'm fine with it."
The people who noticed nothing are calm about it. No drama. They tried it for a month or five, saw no change, and stopped, and a few say whatever it did, coffee does for less.
"I took it every day for approximately 5 months and genuinely didn't notice a difference in my energy levels."
"I took ag1 for the focus benefits and I'd say it worked, but I can just get a cup of coffee for a lot cheaper with the same effect"
"I fell for the marketing of AG1 on his podcast and after a few months I cancelled the subscription"
3. When it disagrees with them
Six kinds of bad reaction, ranked by how often people mention themOf the 139 people in section 2, 55 described a bad reaction, and most say it started within days (though some had taken it for a year first).
People expect the stomach trouble and often push through it, because other commenters tell them a few days of gas is normal with a new probiotic. The skin reactions are scarier to read. People describe a red, hot face or hives within 10 to 30 minutes of drinking it, sometimes after a year of no problems at all.
"Add me to the list of people here that got rashes from ag1."
"By the 6th day, I was vomiting and ha nausea."
"Crazy, you think you're doing something that will make you feel better"
What surprised me is how sad a lot of these comments are. Not angry, sad. Many of these people liked the taste or felt good for the first week, and they're disappointed more than angry.
"Bummed because I like the taste and really wanted it to work."
"I want to love AG1 but this physical reaction scares me."
Liver comes up in about 100 comments across the whole set, mostly in one long thread where people compare blood test results after starting AG1. A handful of others push back and say exercise or other causes can raise the same numbers. I can't judge any of it, so I'd read all of it as personal accounts.
And the explanations people offer for the rashes don't agree. Some say it's a bad batch. Others say it's a niacin flush (a harmless redness from one of the B vitamins, according to the commenters who mention it), and most just stop taking it. I don't know which explanation fits most of these cases, and I'm not sure anyone in these threads does either.
"I know I'm super late here, but it's a niacin flush."
"This was a new bag so I feel like it has to be a batch issue or something."
If your powder has probiotics, fiber and B vitamins, some buyers will react in ways they don't understand. And they'll go to a forum to work it out. A short, plain "what's normal in week one, and what isn't" page could do a lot here. The brand that explains the flush or the bloating first looks honest, and the one that stays quiet gets explained by strangers.
4. The podcast ads
Six reactions to the ads, ranked by how often people mention themI took a random sample of comments about AG1's podcast and creator ads, and 75 of them took a side on what the ads actually say about the product.
So the biggest group never even gets to the product. They see AG1 on a tech channel, a food channel and three health podcasts, and that's enough for them to decide it's expensive because of the ads. About 1 in 5 go further and say the ad cost the host their trust. Mostly they mean health hosts who talk about science for an hour and then read a sponsor spot.
"Good rule of thumb, if a brand is paying for every major podcast to support them then they are probably an overrated brand."
"Huberman's shilling of AG1 has always made me question his other advice"
"If you're buying something advertised on a podcast, you're paying at least 5x too much"
But the defenders are a real group too, about 1 in 5. They see the ad as the price of a free show and skip it. Fair enough.
"Like who cares guys. These people get paid by companies to advertise their products."
"And the advertising is very clearly seperate from the rest of the podcast."
The money talk is full of numbers nobody can check, like the 20% or 30% cut "for life" people say hosts get on every sale. But one commenter who says they used to work at AG1 says that's false, and honestly I have no idea who's right.
"Founder def has a rough past but I can confirm that "podcasters making 20% for life" is false."
"Every YouTuber talks about how AG1 tastes good while they look like they're dying."
Creator ads still sell, and section 1 shows some buyers trust a host they like. But in this category, being everywhere has become a reason to doubt you. If you're a small greens brand, "we don't pay podcasters, so here's what that saves you" might be a real pitch to the large group that's already suspicious.
5. What makes people doubt it
Six reasons for doubt, ranked by how often people mention themThis section uses a random sample of comments about price, ingredients, safety and the company, where 81 gave a reason they don't trust AG1 and 18 defended it.
Price is the big one. Across all 5,006 comments it comes up in about 620, and the usual line is that AG1 is "an expensive multivitamin" that commenters say costs them somewhere around $70 to $100 a month.
The blend worry is more specific, and it's about the label. AG1 lists its ingredients but groups many of them into blends without saying how much of each is inside, so people who do the sums assume each one is tiny. Lead is the third big worry (about 140 comments across the set). Most of it traces back to a lab test of AG1 that people still quote years later, or to the lead warning some buyers saw on the bag.
"Not a big fan of mystery proprietary blends."
"Why exactly would it contain any lead at all? I would something without undesired contaminants for the price. Too much to ask?"
"They don't disclose any numbers or quantifications of lead levels AT ALL."
"The story of the AG1 founder is enough for me to make a big circle around thsi product"
And the other side? The defenders mostly say it's fine for what it is, it's tested, and the people telling everyone to eat vegetables have never seen a busy person's week. Some also point out that vegetables carry traces of lead too.
"It's a good, albeit overpriced, multivitamin."
"The most annoying thing about athletic greens is inevitably the cheap people in the comments telling you to just eat whole foods"
6. Where they go instead
Five alternatives, ranked by how often people mention them68 comments in a random sample named what they moved to, or what they'd tell someone to buy instead.
So most people leave AG1 but keep the habit. They want the same scoop for less money and with the doses printed on the label. Across all the comments, the multivitamin comes up in about 300 (mostly as "it's just a multivitamin"). Then come spirulina (about 70), Huel and IM8 (about 50 each), Thorne (about 40) and Green Vibrance (about 30). And Costco shows up in about 60, both as a cheaper place to buy AG1 itself and as a home for cheaper copies.
"The taste is definitely worse than ag1 but almost 2 times cheaper (with discount) and they disclose the amount of all the ingredients instead of using proprietary blends"
"The Costco version of AG1 is a third of the price."
"I've been mixing in protein shakes Amazing Grass for over a decade."
Taste is the oddest part of the whole set. Odd, right? Among comments that judge AG1's taste, about 45 like it and about 47 hate it. So for a product you're meant to drink every morning it's a coin toss, and the people who like it seem to be the ones who stay.
"I really, really like the taste of it. That's why I don't even try any of the other ones."
"It tastes so artificially sickly sweet, I could barely get down 1 sip."
"AG1 made me feel queasy every morning and honestly tasted like sweetened grass clippings."
The AG1 leaver may be the easiest customer in this category to win. They already have the habit, and they've told you what they want: a printed dose for every ingredient, a lower price and a taste they don't dread. A side-by-side page against AG1, with your doses next to "not disclosed", would answer the exact question these people are asking.
What I'd do with this if I sold a greens powder
If a small greens brand asked me where to start, I'd say section 5. The blend and the lead test are the two doubts people repeat most after price, and both are fully in a brand's control. Print every dose and post your heavy metal results where buyers can find them.
Then I'd fix week one. Quickly. A lot of the reactions in section 3 happen in the first few days, and people quit before they know whether it's normal. Also, I'd keep the message about time and pills, because that's what the people who stay say they're paying for.
If you want to test that wording with your own customers first, this piece on using customer language in DTC marketing may help. And our study of supplement stackers and minimalists looks at how people decide which products stay in their routine.
What I can't answer is whether the people who feel better on AG1 would feel the same on any powder. Or on a big glass of water and a multivitamin, for that matter. A lot of commenters suspect that's the whole story, so maybe it is, but a brand with its own customer data could test it.
A customer glossary
The words people actually useIf you write product pages, emails or ads for a greens powder, these are the words your buyers use.
| Term | What people mean | Signal |
|---|---|---|
| AG / AG1 | The product, still often called Athletic Greens by people who've used it for years. | category |
| Expensive multivitamin | The most common put-down. The idea that AG1 is a multivitamin in powder form at several times the price. | objection |
| Proprietary blend | Ingredients grouped together with no amount for each. Read as a way to hide tiny doses. | objection |
| Shilling | A host or creator reading the AG1 ad. Almost always negative. | complaint |
| Expensive pee | The belief that the body flushes out most of the vitamins, so the money goes down the toilet. | objection |
| Insurance | How happy users describe it: cover for the days they don't eat well. | benefit |
| Regular | Better, more predictable bowel movements. The benefit people mention most after energy. | benefit |
| Niacin flush | The explanation some commenters give for a red, hot face soon after drinking it. | explanation |
| Grass clippings | The taste, according to the half who don't like it. | complaint |
| Travel packs | Single-serving sticks. The format people mention for trips, and what's left in the cupboard after they quit. | format |
Frequently asked questions
Is AG1 worth it?
It depends who you ask, and the price is the main complaint either way. Of 139 people in these comments who described their own results, about 45% said they felt better and about 13% noticed nothing. About 40% had a bad reaction, but many of those came from threads started to complain about side effects. Outside those threads, about 58% said they felt better. Most people who stay say it saves them pills and time, and most who leave say a cheaper powder or a multivitamin does the same job.
Does AG1 actually do anything?
People who say it helped mostly describe more energy (about 43% of them) and better digestion or more regular bowel movements (about 40%). Smaller groups mention fewer colds, better skin, hair or nails, and better sleep. Many add that it could be placebo, or the extra water in the morning. They're personal reports rather than a medical verdict.
Can AG1 upset your stomach or cause a rash?
Some people say it does. Among 55 people who described a bad reaction, about 45% had stomach trouble such as bloating, constipation, diarrhea or nausea. About 27% had skin reactions like redness, itching or hives. Others mention headaches, low mood, aches in their joints, or raised liver enzymes on a blood test. Commenters often blame the probiotics, a bad batch or a niacin flush, and nobody in these threads can say for sure which it is.
Why don't people trust AG1?
The ads come first: about 1 in 3 comments that take a side on AG1's ads say a product advertised that heavily must be overpriced. About 1 in 5 say it made them trust the host less, too. And when they doubt the product itself, they mostly point to the price (about 35%), doses hidden in blends (23%), lead (20%) and reports of raised liver enzymes (15%).
What do people use instead of AG1?
About half of the people who name an alternative move to a cheaper greens powder, often Thorne, Green Vibrance, Huel Daily Greens or a version sold at Costco. About 28% say to just eat more vegetables, often frozen or in a smoothie, and about 16% say a basic multivitamin does the same job for much less.
Want this run for your brand or category?
This is a public sample of how we work. Insightios reads Reddit, Amazon reviews, YouTube, and the communities where your buyers actually talk, then delivers a report with the exact language, objections, and use cases behind your product.
This report analyzes consumer language and perceptions and is not medical advice. We make no claim about the safety or efficacy of AG1 or any other greens powder or supplement. What people say about their results, reactions, blood tests, lead, ingredients, prices and the company are personal accounts we have not checked. We report them as what customers said rather than as fact. Percentages only describe their own section. Treat them as rough guides from these comments rather than a count of everyone who takes AG1, and don't compare them across sections. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take other medication, talk to a doctor before taking a greens powder.