A new report by Kapwing suggests that as of October 2025, between 21% and 33% of YouTube feeds may consist of AI slop or closely related “brain rot” videos, highlighting how quickly this form of content is spreading to platforms around the world.
While AI-generated video is finding legitimate uses in filmmaking, advertising and education, with film schools and major brands experimenting with the technology, the report suggests a parallel ecosystem is emerging. In this space, creators are using prompt-based tools to churn out content at scale, flooding the platform with repetitive, low-quality visuals that prioritize engagement over originality.
Kapwing defines AI slop as inadvertent, low-quality content that is generated through automated applications and distributed to garner views or influence opinion. Brainrot is a closely related category, referring to obsessive, pointless videos that erode attention and understanding through endless repetition and spectacle.
To gauge how widespread this phenomenon is, Kapwing looked at the top 100 trending YouTube channels in each country and identified those that primarily generated AI-generated slop.
The researchers then used Social Blade's data to analyze views, subscribers, and estimated revenue. To simulate the experience of a new user, we also created a new YouTube account and tracked the first 500 short videos that appeared in the feed.
This discovery reveals a striking geographic pattern.
Spain has emerged as the country with the largest subscriber base of trending AI slop channels with over 20 million total subscribers, despite having fewer channels in the top rankings compared to countries such as Pakistan, Egypt and South Korea. Much of Spain's subscriber advantage is due to a small number of highly successful channels, including religious-themed accounts that blend faith-based messages with quiz-style videos.
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In contrast, South Korea's AI slop ecosystem stands out in terms of scale rather than subscriptions. The trending AI slop channel has been viewed over 8.4 billion times, far more than Pakistan, the US, and Spain combined. One Korean channel alone accounts for nearly a quarter of this figure, using stylized animal images and affiliate-linked content to drive engagement and revenue.
The report also identifies the most prominent AI slop channels around the world. The most subscribed channel is from the United States, publishes Spanish-language content, and has attracted nearly 6 million subscribers with AI-generated videos themed around popular anime series.
Meanwhile, the single most-watched AI slop channel is India-based Bandar Apna Dost. The channel, which features hundreds of nearly identical videos centering on photorealistic monkeys placed in dramatic human-like scenarios, has more than 2 billion views and is estimated to earn more than $4 million annually once fully monetized.
According to Kapwing's revenue analysis, the most profitable AI slop channels are closely aligned with the most viewed channels, as revenue estimates are primarily determined by recent views. Many of these videos were uploaded within the past few months.
This report looks beyond individual channels and focuses on the everyday user experience. In a simulated new account test, more than a fifth of the first 500 short videos were generated by AI, while a full third fell into the Brainrot category. The first few videos contained no such content, but as the feed progressed, the AI's slops and head turns became more and more frequent.
This surge poses a challenge for YouTube. While the platform's leadership speaks positively about generative AI as a transformative force in video production, the report notes that there are growing concerns about advertiser trust and brand value when ads appear alongside low-quality and repetitive content.
According to data cited in the report, nearly a tenth of the world's fastest-growing YouTube channels now publish only AI-generated content, suggesting that AI slop is no longer a fringe phenomenon but a structural feature of the platform's growth.
Kapwing concludes that while AI slop and brain rot may seem harmless or amusing, its sheer volume risks drowning out the work of thoughtful humans. As automated content becomes more commonplace, the report argues, the ability to critically evaluate media rather than simply consume it may become increasingly important for audiences navigating an algorithm-driven internet.
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