In 2025, Merriam-Webster’s editors chose “Slop” as the Word of the Year.

The dictionary defines slop as “low-quality digital content produced in high volume by artificial intelligence.”

These low-quality, low-effort AI-generated videos often feature talking animals, over-the-top stories, and artificial narration, and are easy to spot because they lack insight, sources, or purpose.

According to The Guardian, the video-editing company Kapwing surveyed 15,000 of the world’s most popular YouTube channels, including the top 100 in each country, and found that 278 of those channels were entirely AI-generated slop. Together, they had amassed more than 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers, generating an estimated $117 million in annual revenue!

The result? 

Viewers are now developing a finely tuned radar for anything that looks technically impressive but emotionally vacant. Case in point, the high-profile holiday campaigns from Coca-Cola. Leaning heavily on AI and less on traditional human artistry, they were instantly rejected by viewers as “digital slop”. 

Does that mean we should reject all things AI?

Not really. 

It’s not about avoiding AI, but guiding it with oversight, quality checks, and planning, to prevent the creation of digital junk.

As AI tools improve in 2026, the challenge is no longer about creation, but connection.

Does it feel human enough to matter?

Responsible AI begins with us.