By Jonathan Baker Earning ‘Word of the Year’ from Merriam-Webster would be an honor (in most cases). Take a careful look at the above image. The word ‘slop’—which for centuries was used to define mud or muck—was elevated last year to describe poorly executed or inaccurate AI-created content. This should serve as a warning. Application of AI Much has been written about the ‘art of the prompt.’ This phrase explains how the wording, context, and overall instructions in crafting content through AI requires the greatest detail and precision. Recent findings (not to mention the dubious ‘Word of the Year’ for 2025 distinction), hint at how the detail and precision in creating AI content is glaringly falling short. An Expert in AI Weighs In A recent Media Post article interviewed Sean Marshall, who is the co-founder and COO of Copley, an AI platform. Mr. Marshall stated that the more frequently used term today is ‘AI slop.’ He mentioned instances of ‘distorted images like when a person has six fingers instead of five.’ (Mr. Marshall must have been thinking of the infamous Vogue magazine cover with Arianna Grande.) Tying in with the points about care and precision listed above, he stated: “It takes a lot of prompting and data to create a natural image of a person.” Surely no one wants to post and distribute shoddily AI-created content. Why then does this happen? Floods of Information and Images Thousands upon thousands of fragmented signals from large language models (LLMs) are delivered to marketers to create image and video content. Any ‘wrong’ data that slips through will create AI slop. Whether the reasons range from rushing a project to cutting costs, the result will be AI slop, which ultimately hurts the integrity of the brand, creator, and any associated parties. With so many signals at their disposal, how can marketers find those that will equal ‘right’ data? Questions and Answers Marketers, creators, and anyone involved in producing content through AI should keep these questions as a reference for every project. Following these should increase the creation and promotion of content based on ‘right data’: Is ‘the human factor’ still leading? The ease in creating content through AI has given way to letting this technology do all the work. This belief and practice is wrong and is the number one reason behind the production of AI slop. Is there a focus on utility? Directly tied in with the human factor, the value of all AI content must be genuine and relevant to the needs of potential customers. And having the ability to analyze and prioritize value can only come from a human being. Is each platform being monitored? No matter how diligent a marketing and creative team may be, there is always room for human error. This is why efforts to check and analyze each platform is essential to curtail or quickly fix a situation where AI slop might slip through. In Closing The near exponential increase of applying artificial intelligence contrasts to a growing margin of error where the creation of AI slop occurs. (Why else would ‘slop’ be the ‘Word of the Year’ and connected to AI?) If you are unsure of how to correctly apply AI to your brand’s digital content, contact EGC Group. Our strategic and creative teams will ensure images, videos, and anything related to your overall brand messaging is carefully curated, checked, and remains relevant to your target audience. Related reading: Never Neglect ‘the Human Touch’ in the Age of AI.
