More than 20% of videos shown to new YouTube users are 'AI slop', study finds
Kapwing (a video-editing company) looked at the top 100 YouTube channels in every country and found hundreds that appear to publish nothing but what it calls “AI slop”: low-quality, AI-generated videos built to farm views. The story adds some striking “new account” evidence too: when researchers created a fresh YouTube account, about 1 in 5 of the first 500 recommended videos fit the “AI slop” label, and roughly a third were categorized as “brainrot” (a broader bucket of low-effort, attention-monetizing content).
What makes this worth tracking is that it’s not just weird spam — it’s an economy. The analysis estimates these channels collectively pull in huge view counts and subscriber totals, and that the ad revenue involved is meaningful. It also highlights how international this phenomenon is: the same “no-plot, highly repeatable, language-light” formats can spread across markets, which makes them unusually efficient for recommendation algorithms to amplify. For anyone building recommender systems, media products, or model-based content tools, this is a reminder that generation cost has dropped faster than moderation and ranking incentives have adapted. “Better detection” is necessary, but so is thinking about what kinds of engagement signals you’re rewarding.