Key to going viral on YouTube isn't creativity, it's brainrot AI slop

A new study conducted by the video-editing company Kapwing found that more than one in five videos recommended to new YouTube users are “AI slop.”

AI slop, also known simply as slop, refers to digital content created by generative artificial intelligence, specifically showcasing low effort and cheap quality content. There’s an overwhelming volume of production of these AI videos, which are designed to farm views and advertising revenue.

In the study, Kapwign assessed 15,000 of YouTube's most popular channels, including the top 100 channels in every country and found that 278 channels were constituted entirely of AI slop.

Together, these channels have accumulated more than 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers. Leveraging this audience, the channels generated an estimated $117 million (£90 million) annually.

To measure how content went viral on the platform, researchers created a fresh YouTube account without any personal preferences or interests. It was found that out of the first 500 recommended videos, 104 were entirely AI slop, while roughly one-third fell into a broader category of brainrot content, which is also another form of low-quality and meaningless AI-generated content.

These findings indicate a rapidly growing ecosystem of algorithm-driven content spreading across social media platforms, including YouTube.

The Guardian reported earlier this year that around 10% of YouTube’s fastest-growing channels are entirely based on AI slop, despite the platform’s efforts to curb “inauthentic content.”

Interestingly, many of the largest AI slop channels attract global audiences. In Spain, trending AI channels gained 20 million followers while similar channels with millions of subscribers exist in the United States, Egypt, Brazil, and India.

Analysts state that the popularity of AI slop stems from its absurdity, lack of narrative complexity, and algorithm amplification. While social media platforms say they prioritise quality content, researchers argue that the reach of these AI slop channels indicates how effectively they exploit recommendation systems and are deeply embedded in the modern attention economy.