The Rise of AI Slop and the Risk of Digital Decay in Advertising
It was at Picnic’s ‘Inventory Talks’ event in September 2025 that I first heard the term ‘Enshittification’, a phrase coined by Cory Doctorow. The blunt term stuck with me as a way of describing how digital platforms gradually decay in quality, especially as profit motives take over from user value. And now Merriam-Webster has declared ‘slop’ as 2025’s word of the year.
In ad tech, we’re now watching a worrying subplot in this decline: AI slop. Low-quality, AI-generated content is flooding the open web with some reports suggesting that this year around 90% of online content could be AI-generated. Quantity is exploding, but at the expense of quality.
For advertisers, publishers, and tech providers alike, this should be setting off alarm bells.
What Is AI slop?
AI slop is the mass production of low-effort, low-value content created to game algorithms rather than inform, entertain or inspire real audiences. Think generic listicles, half-coherent explainers, repetitive “thought leadership”, and SEO-stuffed pages that say a lot without actually saying anything at all.
This content is cheap to produce, endlessly replicable and increasingly hard to distinguish from credible editorial at a glance. While AI can absolutely be a force for good, supporting creativity and efficiency, AI slop represents its laziest application: content built for volume, not value.
The result is a polluted information ecosystem where attention is diluted, trust is eroded, and genuinely useful content struggles to cut through the noise.
Enshittification and the open web
This is where enshittification comes in. Platforms and ecosystems often start by serving users well. Then, as monetisation pressure increases, the incentives shift. Engagement is prioritised over experience. Scale over substance.
AI slop accelerates this process for the open web. As more low-quality content competes for the same eyeballs, discovery becomes harder, user experience worsens and advertisers face diminishing returns. Over time, the web risks becoming an oversaturated content ecosystem where quality is hard to spot.
That’s bad news for everyone who relies on a healthy, diverse and trusted open internet.
Looking to 2026: The stakes are high
If left unchecked, AI slop could define the year ahead. The implications are significant:
Brand risk: Advertisers may increasingly find their messages appearing next to vague, misleading or outright incorrect content.
Inventory devaluation: Genuine publishers investing in journalism, expertise, and editorial standards risk being undercut by a flood of artificially cheap and abundant supply. When everything looks the same, everything is priced the same.
Trust erosion: As users encounter more low-value content, trust in the open web declines. Advertisers may respond by retreating further into walled gardens, reinforcing a cycle that weakens independent media.
Innovation stagnation: When content production is driven by volume metrics alone, there’s little incentive to invest in originality, insight or new formats. The ecosystem becomes noisier, not smarter.
Rising above the slop: How brands can win
The good news? Enshittification isn’t inevitable.
Brands and businesses that want to rise above AI slop need to double down on quality, credibility and context. That means prioritising earned media, expert commentary, and thought leadership that adds something genuinely new to the conversation. It means aligning with trusted publishers and platforms that value editorial integrity. And it means using AI as a tool to enhance human insight, not replace it.
From a PR perspective, this is where strategy matters more than ever. Bespoke programmes that embed Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) help brands optimise for AI-led discovery while building genuine authority and clear, compelling narratives. The result is visibility in the environments that still matter. Because in a world of limitless content, standing out is the ultimate competitive advantage.
Digital decay is a real risk – but so is digital complacency. We’re keen to hear what trends you’re seeing across the ad tech landscape and to explore how our tailored PR programmes can help you leverage them, not get lost in the slop. Get in touch here.