AI slop: How algorithms shape the new digital landscape

These AI cat sagas are typically set to altered versions of songs by Billie Eilish or Sia, with lyrics transformed into meows, combining absurd humor with melodrama. The concept follows a long tradition of cats dominating online culture.

“Images of cats can be malleable… we can make cat images mean whatever we want them to mean,” says Jessica Maddox, professor at the University of Alabama.

Algorithms, speed and monetization

The rise of what researchers call “AI slop” has expanded far beyond TikTok. YouTube, in particular, has seen a surge of AI-based output, with four of the platform’s ten largest channels in May publishing exclusively AI-generated material. “Machines are making content for machines,” observes Renée DiResta, a researcher of online ecosystems.

Social media algorithms, tuned for maximum engagement, have become fertile ground for such production. Content that takes minutes to generate and costs almost nothing can now rival expensive studio work. “AI made it possible to do this at scale, so why not try?” DiResta notes.

This scalability drives monetization. Many creators profit through platform partnership programs or by selling courses on producing viral AI videos. Charles of @mpminds openly acknowledges the commercial incentive: “I knew there was potential to make money on TikTok… the cat videos really took off, so I stuck with that.” For audiences, the synthetic nature of the content often goes unnoticed, or is seen as irrelevant to their emotional reaction.

The threat to quality content and industry response

The spread of AI slop alarms both creators of traditional media and the custodians of online knowledge. The Wikipedia community has introduced a “speedy deletion” rule for articles that show clear signs of AI authorship, bypassing the usual seven-day review process. “It helps save countless hours on cleaning up the junk AI leaves behind,” says one veteran editor.

Advertisers face their own challenges. “AI slop is diminishing the quality and trustworthiness of digital advertising as a whole,” stresses Mallory Chaney, Vice President at Basis. Large networks of AI-driven sites often combine synthetic material with stolen reporting, creating an illusion of legitimacy and putting brands at risk of being associated with misleading or harmful content.

The monetization strategies behind AI slop can also distort key performance metrics, inflating impressions while failing to reflect genuine audience interest. This, in turn, can mislead campaign optimization models, waste ad spend, and erode trust in the surrounding media environment.

To counter the threat, marketers are adopting multi-layered safeguards: contextual intelligence tools to analyze meaning rather than keywords, private marketplaces less susceptible to fraud, and dynamic blocklists of suspicious domains. “Early investments in processes and training will help prepare for the moment when AI content becomes harder to detect,” Chaney notes.

Industry observers increasingly agree that the AI slop phenomenon is not a temporary trend but a structural change in the digital media landscape. The key challenge for the coming years will be whether platforms, advertisers, and audiences can maintain a balance between embracing technological innovation and preserving the value of authentic, verifiable content.

As one expert put it, the real question is not whether the next Chubby or “Shrimp Jesus” will appear - but whether the internet of the future will still have a human voice at all.

Earlier, it was reported that OpenAI has rolled out GPT-5 as the default model for all ChatGPT users — from Free to Plus, Pro, and Team — on web, mobile, and desktop. The update blends the strengths of earlier models, delivering faster, smarter responses and automatically choosing the best mode for each task.