AI slop isn’t an AI problem. It’s a leadership failure

The flood of low-quality AI content isn’t a tech issue. While AI slop looks perfect on the outside, it’s empty on the inside. It's annoying and litters our feeds and inboxes. 

Here's the hard truth: AI isn’t the problem. You are. 

AI is simply responding to your prompts. So, before we freak out on the mediocre AI-generated content, let’s take a long look in the marketing mirror first. 

→ The problem isn’t AI. It’s how we’re using it.

• We’re treating AI like a cheap production engine, driven by bad prompts, no creative standards, and far too much confidence.
   
• We’ve replaced experienced marketers with mid-level project managers and lost the craft that gives content real brand value.
   
• The result? A flood of AI slop: content that looks polished but says nothing, connects with no one, and weakens your brand.

And remember, it's for a reason that we re-appreciate human and handmade things with craftsmanship, as seen in the new Apple TV logo.

1. What is AI slop?

AI slop is junk. Content that looks sleek on the surface but is creatively bankrupt underneath. Technically impressive, but lacks connection.

→ It has no personality. No identity.

You just feel something is missing. And if you strip your logo, nothing remains.

Why it matters

AI slop doesn’t hurt your brand because it’s wrong. It hurts because it's empty.

→ And above all, it's not doing its job as a marketing tool. 

The brands that win aren’t the ones publishing the most or scaling the fastest.

To win today, your identity and personality, backed by strategy and executed with craft, make the difference. 

2. Why it’s happening: obsession with scale and lack of seniority

Two causes for this fast growth of AI slop. 

• First, everyone’s chasing scale. However, we're scaling the wrong thing. We’re rushing to produce more with less, not investing enough in the strategic and creative part. 
  
  We’re misusing AI as a cheap, fast production engine.

• Second, we stopped investing in craftsmanship. You can't outsource a deep understanding of proven marketing and advertising theories to AI. And most marketers and content creators lack the proven psychology and essential design principles needed to produce great work that does the marketing job. 
  
  Think of Robert B. Cialdini, Malcolm Gladwell, Chip Heath & Dan Heath, Daniel Kahneman, Steve Krug, David Ogilvy, Byron Sharp, and Philip Kotler.
  
  And from the Golden Ratio to kerning, contrast, and word widows, we’ve forgotten the rules for design.

Don’t shoot the messenger, but more often than not, the marketing department now consists of marketers who are better trained in project management than in marketing and advertising.

How come? The leadership team wants to scale with AI and do it as cheaply as possible. Junior and mid-level hires are still cheaper than seasoned seniors

3. What to do about it

This is on you, as a CMO or CEO. If you're leading a brand, AI slop is your problem, not your teams. Here’s how to stop slop:

• Hire senior thinkers, not just mid-level doers
• Always audit all your content for brand distinctiveness
• Use AI to amplify, not replace your voice

Summary

AI slop isn’t a tech problem; it’s a you problem. 

→ The flood of generic, over-polished, emotionally empty content isn’t AI’s fault; it’s the result of how marketing is using it: bad prompts, no taste, and far too much confidence, combined with a lack of real marketing craft. 

→ AI slop happens when we treat AI as a production machine. We're scaling the output, but we're losing our voice. 

→ The root cause is filling marketing teams with mid-level project managers instead of seasoned marketers obsessed with craft. 

To fix it, brands need to hire thinkers, not just doers, be meticulous about your brand’s identity and audit continuously, and lastly, use AI in partnership with human creativity, not in place of it.

The brands that will win with AI aren’t the ones that publish the most, but the brands that dare to invest in the seniors. 

Over to you. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.

About my confessions

More about me and my confessions. Why I hold content to a higher standard. And why I write what most people in this industry won't say out loud.

I'm a content strategist with a university background in marketing, media, sociology, and psychology. I've worked in this industry for 25+ years and for 50+ global brands and agencies. 

I've seen a lot. Made many mistakes. Learned even more. 

Now, I share all this to inspire everyone working in marketing and communication to more accountable work. There's already too much crappy content out there; no need to add to it.

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