AI has been going so nuts over the last year that it already has its own folklore springing up around it – one example is the rise of the term “AI slop”. But what’s slop?
In its broadest definition, AI slop is AI without YOU. It’s giving it a lazy prompt and accepting that whatever it comes up with is already roadworthy – good enough to put out into the world as a representation of you, your business or your business’s brand.
In addition, AI slop is AI that’s blatantly, conspicuously AI.
“AI slop is AI without YOU. It’s giving it a lazy prompt and accepting that whatever it comes up with is already roadworthy.”
And boy, do I see a lot of it out there. My impression is that millions of new cooks are in the kitchen without the expertise to check for seasoning before plating up their dishes and serving them.
Every day I see a post from a business that’s sprung up from nowhere, AI-isms blazing from every orifice (post creatives, landing pages, copy).
The look is crass. It immediately homogenises your brand with every other that’s also churning out AI slop. It smacks of cowboys and cost-cutting, not strong established brands.
Moreover, it’s not just people like me with a background in copy and design that are turned off by it.
I was talking to a business owner of a finance brokerage recently, who was already conscious of the little design quirks that Claude Design is addicted to.
“How do I stop it from putting those UPPERCASE EYEBROWS on every headline? Just makes it look like an AI site,” he complained. “I’ve asked it to stop a few times.”
Consumers too are massively onto it. Early this year, Canva, in partnership with The Harris Poll put out a beautifully timed study called The State of Marketing and AI Report 2026 which made a number of important observations about consumers’ attitudes towards generative AI-assisted ‘produce’.
Not only was this report amongst the first to observe and document the rise of the term “AI slop”, they raised an important question for marketers – the question of not, can we, but should we?
Meghan Gendelman, CMO B2B Canva, in her video summary put it like this:
“Today, marketers and consumers are living in completely different AI realities. As marketers we think we’re moving faster than ever, shipping more, testing more, automating more – but our audiences: they feel like they’re living in a world of AI slop. They’re getting sharper, they’re more selective and they’re very aware of how and where AI shows up in their feed.”
The report went on to document key findings about consumers’ attitudes to AI in marketing:
of the sample said “I can tell for the most part when an ad is AI-generated, it’s missing its soul.”
said “AI-generated tools are often so obvious it’s laughable”
said they are more likely to purchase from an ad created entirely by humans than an AI-generated one.
So, what’s slop?
It’s something your brand doesn’t want to be known for, that’s for sure. Here’s a quick list of what I’d call AI sloppy output, in no particular order.
Tiny spaced out all-caps “eyebrows”
The AI has somehow locked onto these as the pinnacle of sexy typography – they hover above every headline explaining what’s already obvious. Their kerning is decidedly turn of the century. Sloppy.
Long em-dashes in copy
Another quirk that’s already become folkloric as writers the world over observed and made fun of it widely. Sloppy.
Uncanny valley everything
The term started as one to describe images that looked oh so much like the real thing, but just not quite. Now I use it to refer to the explosion of crazy ‘no brand’ creativity that is blending into a techni-coloured mush in our social feeds. I’ve seen puppies and koalas on one panel in B2B posts, jazzercise class concepts that defy description – it’s like last century’s ad fossils have risen up, brought back the brush-stroke font, then taken a fat spew all over it before hitting ‘post’. Sloppy.
Poorly sourced and referenced stats
Any fact you publish needs to be just that – any percentage minus a superscript or footnote is dodgy. Making claims the AI gave you without interrogating them? Using anything below Harvard quality footnoting? Sloppy.
Not reading AI’s work before showing it up the line
Believe it or not, it happens: “Here’s the post, I haven’t actually read it yet, what do you think?” To that I would say: what do YOU think (if you still can, in fact, think at all). Sloppy.
AI without YOU
As one of my most AI-literate colleagues would say about all AI Tools: Shit in, shit out. Giving AI a lazy prompt means getting a shallow response. Wherever you work or whatever you do, the work has to start with your thinking, your IP. It’s up to YOU to brief the AI on that, be thorough about what it calls on and take something of yourself into the process. Not doing that? Sloppy.
Not just can we, should we
To reiterate the wise words of Meghan Gendelman, it’s time for marketers – or anyone promoting their brand and business – to take stock. It’s intoxicating to suddenly have an AI slave who will follow your every command. It’s a thrill to see a neater layout than you’ve ever made in your life after a few minutes of ‘caramelising’. But that doesn’t mean the world needs more content, especially of the sloppy kind.
Source
- ^ Canva in partnership with The Harris Poll, The State of Marketing and AI Report 2026.
This article is 100% human authored, but Claude did design it. Thanks buddy.