As AI slop spreads on social media, brands have lessons to learn

Social media’s AI-slop era might be upon us.

Social media is changing before our eyes at a rapid clip. In September, Meta rolled out Vibes, a dedicated feed for AI-generated short videos, and OpenAI launched Sora 2, a TikTok-style app with an AI spin that reached 1 million downloads — even faster than OpenAI’s own ChatGPT.

While the apps don’t yet feature ads, OpenAI has expressed interest in ads on its products, and Meta has not been shy about its intention to use data from its AI platforms for ad targeting. But marketers still face a new world where AI-generated content flourishes in the social landscape that has been a playground for advertisers for years.

“We’ve certainly seen the initial hype around tools such as Sora and Vibes soften, and what’s left behind is a grounded and strategic curiosity among marketing professionals,” said Megan Dooley, head of content at TAL Agency.

Whether that’s Coca-Cola’s second attempt at using AI for its famed Christmas ad, or individual brands thinking about how to deploy AI visuals, the ascension of GenAI is emboldening some advertisers to assess the tech more fully.

“We’re no longer dazzled by AI for its novelty, and we’re starting to explore its value,” Dooley added.

Yet the risk, she said, is “synthetic sameness.” In other words, brands blending into the mush. As such, some experts predict a fragmented social media environment that caters both to audiences satisfied with AI-generated content and those seeking more genuine experiences.

Balancing AI’s promise and pitfalls

AI slop had already been surging on other video platforms like YouTube, where it is raising alarms for advertisers and creators alike.

It’s a challenge to avoid the AI slop label, said Thomas Walters, chief innovation officer at Billion Dollar Boy.

The firm recently surveyed 6,000 consumers, creators and marketers and found 79% of marketers are increasing their spending on AI-generated content. That’s despite only a quarter of consumers preferring AI content to human-made alternatives.

Part of the reason brands and agencies are adopting AI is because it’s cheaper at a time when budgets are shrinking. Yet it’s easy to fall into a trap of inauthenticity using AI.

“What consumers are responding to right now is truthful creativity — content that feels real and intentional,” TAL Agency’s Dooley said.

“The divide between polished premium content and messy, lo-fi short-form video is certainly a source of division and tension in marketing. And AI only makes it worse.”

That’s where marketers are split on their use of AI.

“As marketers pivot their AI strategies from test-and-learn pilots to long-term investment plays, the winners will be those who find the right balance between machine capability and human creativity and who champion quality over quantity,” Walters said.

James Kirkham, founder of Iconic, thinks individual taste, rather than individual AI tools, will become the differentiator for companies. He expects smart brands to put their money toward what can’t be faked: editorial judgment, cultural insight and calls for genuine participation.

“We’re heading for a split-screen media world,” he added, with immersion on one side and AI-generated escapist blur on the other. “AI slop won’t replace human storytelling; it will just make quality more visible.”

The risks behind AI-generated content

Brands toying with AI content could face further controversies, though, if new social media dynamics are any indication.

Sora, for instance, has triggered debates about copyright, fair use and more.

The tech giants at the center of AI controversies haven’t appeared to have fully resolved the tricky relationship between AI content and brand messaging.

That unreliability of social feeds in an AI-enabled era might mean that marketers start to spend more on traditional outlets, which are seen as more trustworthy sources of marketing messaging, at least in the U.K.

While consumers — particularly younger ones — may be increasingly tolerating ads on social media, according to Forrester data, they’re not necessarily trusting of the messages there. AI could make that worse.

Still, the genie is out of the bottle with the release of comprehensive, high-quality video generation tools to the mass market. With that in mind, Dooley expects spend to “tilt toward creators and publishers who can guarantee trust, authenticity and distinctiveness,” while AI is used in the background to analyze data and speed up production.

Billion Dollar Boy’s Walter agreed: “Spend alone won’t guarantee success.”