More than 20% of the videos YouTube’s algorithm recommends to new users are “AI slop”—low-quality, artificially generated content designed to attract views, according to recent research. This influx of automated videos is raising questions about the future of content creation and the platforms hosting it.
The Rise of Algorithm-Driven Content
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AI-generated videos are flooding platforms like YouTube, raising concerns about content quality and monetization.
- A study by Kapwing found that 278 of the top 100 YouTube channels in every country contain only AI slop.
- These channels have collectively amassed over 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers.
- Estimated annual revenue generated by these channels is approximately $117 million (£90 million).
- A new YouTube account encountered AI slop in 104 of its first 500 video recommendations.
The video-editing company Kapwing surveyed 15,000 of the world’s most popular YouTube channels—the top 100 in each country—and discovered that 278 channels exclusively feature this type of content. Together, these AI slop channels have garnered more than 63 billion views and boast 221 million subscribers, generating an estimated $117 million (£90 million) in revenue annually.
To further investigate, researchers created a new YouTube account and found that 104 out of the first 500 videos recommended were categorized as AI slop. One-third of those 500 recommendations fell into a broader category called “brainrot,” encompassing AI slop and other low-quality content designed to maximize engagement.
This trend represents a rapidly expanding industry saturating major social media platforms—from X to Meta to YouTube—and defining a new era of content: decontextualized, addictive, and internationally distributed.
Global Reach and Popular Channels
An analysis earlier this year revealed that nearly 10% of YouTube’s fastest-growing channels were producing AI slop, despite the platform’s attempts to limit “inauthentic content.”
The distribution of these channels is global, with significant viewership in multiple countries. In Spain, approximately 20 million people—nearly half the population—follow trending AI channels. Other countries with substantial AI channel followings include Egypt (18 million), the United States (14.5 million), and Brazil (13.5 million).
What makes AI slop so popular? The content often relies on absurdity, repetitive tropes, and a lack of complex narratives, making it easily accessible to a wide audience.
The most-viewed channel identified in the Kapwing study, Bandar Apna Dost, is based in India and has accumulated 2.4 billion views. The channel features the adventures of an anthropomorphic rhesus monkey alongside a muscular character modeled after the Incredible Hulk, who battles demons and travels in a tomato-shaped helicopter. Kapwing estimates the channel’s potential earnings at $4.25 million annually. Attempts to reach the channel’s owner for comment were unsuccessful.
Rohini Lakshané, a researcher specializing in technology and digital rights, suggests that Bandar Apna Dost’s popularity stems from its inherent absurdity, its reliance on hyper-masculine themes, and its simple, plotless format.
Pouty Frenchie, based in Singapore, has garnered 2 billion views and appears to target children. The channel chronicles the escapades of a French bulldog—driving to a candy forest, consuming crystal sushi—often accompanied by a soundtrack of children’s laughter. Kapwing estimates its annual revenue at nearly $4 million. Fascinating Stories, based in the United States, also caters to children with cartoon storylines and has amassed 6.65 million subscribers, making it the most-subscribed channel in the study.
Meanwhile, The AI World, based in Pakistan, features AI-generated shorts depicting catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, with titles like “Poor People,” “Poor Family,” and “Flood Kitchen.” These videos are often set to a soundtrack of “Relaxing Rain, Thunder & Lightning Ambience for Sleep.” The channel has accumulated 1.3 billion views.
The Ecosystem Behind the Slop
Determining the overall significance of these channels within YouTube’s vast content library is challenging, as the platform does not publicly disclose yearly view counts or the proportion of AI-generated content.
However, these uncanny scenes of candy forests and disasters are fueled by a growing, semi-organized industry of individuals seeking new ways to monetize major platforms using AI tools. According to Max Read, a journalist who has extensively covered AI slop, there are active communities on platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord where creators exchange tips, ideas, and even sell courses on creating engaging, monetizable “slop.”
“They have what they call niches,” Read explained. “One that I noticed recently is AI videos of people’s pressure cookers exploding on the stove.”
Read noted that many AI slop creators originate from English-speaking countries with reliable internet access and where potential earnings on YouTube exceed the median wage. “It’s mostly sort of middle-income countries like Ukraine, lots and lots of people in India, Kenya, Nigeria, a fair number in Brazil. You see Vietnam, too. Places with relative freedom online to access social media sites,” he said.
The AI slop ecosystem isn’t without its challenges. Creator programs on YouTube and Meta often lack transparency regarding content payments, and the space is rife with scammers selling ineffective tips and courses. Despite these hurdles, it remains a viable income source for some.
Ultimately, human creativity plays a diminishing role in the success of AI slop, as the algorithms governing platforms like Meta and YouTube are the primary drivers of content distribution. “These websites are huge A/B testing machines just by their nature,” Read said. “Almost anything that you can think of, you could already find on Facebook. So the question is, how do you find the things that are kind of doing well, and then how do you scale that? How do you make 10 of them?”
A YouTube spokesperson stated, “Generative AI is a tool, and like any tool it can be used to make both high- and low-quality content. We remain focused on connecting our users with high-quality content, regardless of how it was made. All content uploaded to YouTube must comply with our community guidelines, and if we find that content violates a policy, we remove it.”
