20% of YouTube's suggestions are AI-generated fluff

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When YouTube's recommendations start to look like a graveyard of strange, low-effort videos, think sleepy narrators, zombie facts, and graphics that scream “AI did this.” you are never alone.

New research shows that just over one in five videos served to new YouTube users is an “AI slop.” This is industry slang for computer-generated content designed to garner clicks rather than offering something useful or impersonal.

According to Kapwing, which conducted the statistics, AI-generated content is becoming alarmingly common on new YouTube accounts. Their detailed research yielded a random sample of 500 videos to recommend to new viewers.

As a result, 104 (21%) of these videos were generated entirely by AI. Another 33% fall into the “brain rot” bucket. This means common copy-and-paste content that exists purely to exploit algorithms.

ZDNet confirms this trend, pointing to the rise in inadvertent AI-assisted video spam currently flooding user feeds.

The scale of the problem is staggering. As first reported, guardianthese channels aren't just cluttering up space for fun, they're also making serious money.

The AI ​​slop factory reaps an estimated $117 million a year in advertising revenue by churning out endless clips about everything from “shocking animal facts” to recycling game hacks.

This is not a typo. The $117 million was fueled by millions of mostly unconscious clicks and endless algorithmic recommendations.

So where does all this digital junk come from? Kapwing explains that through a combination of advanced text-to-video conversion, AI narration, and image generators, content farms can pump out hundreds of these videos a day. No human supervision required. Just release the bot and put in your cash.

YouTube, which has faced criticism, says it is now cracking down on low-quality AI content and strengthening its “authenticity.” Fighting this digital flood is like salvaging a leaky ship with a thimble.

For those who want to find genuine creators among the avalanche, your best bet is to sharpen your impostor detection radar and avoid “slants.”

Kevin is the founder and editor-in-chief of KnowTechie. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the technology industry, Kevin has turned what was once a passion project into a full-fledged technology news publication. Email kevin@knowtechie.com.