Cruddy AI-generated content, or “AI slop,” is infiltrating the internet. Which is why, for better or worse, AI is changing the industry’s understanding of premium.
The term premium historically referred to production value. But nowadays, premium is becoming synonymous with user engagement, regardless of quality – which is another slippery term.
We all see AI slop on the regular, including advertising executives and decision-makers. During a panel about this topic at AdExchanger’s Programmatic AI conference in Las Vegas earlier this week, our associate editor Victoria McNally kicked off the discussion by asking the audience to raise their hands if they frequently encounter AI slop.
Lots of hands went up in the air.
But it’s worth pointing out that not all AI content is “slop” – that is, low-quality, error-riddled AI-generated junk churned out for clicks. Yet even higher-quality AI content has a bad rap. Consumers eschew AI-generated content for its lack of authenticity. For example, roughly 30% of Gen Zers and millennials feel negatively about AI-generated ads, up from 18% in 2024.
