AI slop
Also called slop, workslop
Low-quality content made in bulk with AI: filler articles, odd images, junk videos and padded reports that look like work but say little.
Slop was Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2025, defined as "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence". It covers the pages written to catch search traffic, the strange images and videos made to farm clicks, junk e-books, and at work the AI-padded report that takes longer to read than it took to make.
It exists because making it costs almost nothing, while clicks and ad views still pay. The tells are a lack of anything specific: no author, no dates, details that don't hold up, the same structure and phrases over and over. When you spot those, look for a source with a name attached.
For example
A "Top 10 hidden beaches" page with no author, the same 3 adjectives in every entry and a beach that turns out to be a car park is slop.
Put it to use
Where you'll meet AI slop in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, how to use it there, and the mix-up most people make.
Daily Bytes Plus is in the Android app.