The word ‘slop’ is experiencing something of a moment. A term that was once used to discuss animal feed and cafeteria food now graces headlines with some regularity. From your aunt’s Facebook feed to the newsroom, AI-generated content is becoming an omnipresent feature of modern life. The quality of this content often leaves a lot to be desired, which is why much of it has come to be described as slop. While shrimp Jesuses may be the most visible manifestation of the phenomenon, slop can appear in any medium, including the written word. As a result, content creators need to use AI mindfully. Luckily, there are some telltale signs that can be indicative of AI authorship, and knowing them can help writers avoid shooting themselves in the foot.
Too many people treat AI like a magic lamp when they should be treating it like a car.
What causes slop?
While some creators may deliberately produce slop as a form of ragebait, in many cases it’s an unintended consequence stemming from careless AI use. With all the hype surrounding AI, it's easy to overlook its limitations. Too many people treat AI like a magic lamp when they should be treating it like a car. Just as driving goes beyond stepping on the gas and hoping the car takes you where you want to go, proper AI use requires constant human guidance. When that oversight is missing, slop is often the result.
In a world where anyone can generate a thousand words in a few seconds, it's important to know which words are worth reading.
How can you tell if something is written by AI?
AI writing tends to display a number of quirks that can make it stand out to the trained eye. Consider this passage:
Content marketing is an essential strategy businesses use to enhance brand awareness—engage audiences—and drive measurable results. With an increasing emphasis on optimizing digital touchpoints—marketers are not only leveraging content to drive customer relationships—but also to improve conversion rates through targeted engagement. Whether through email campaigns—blog posts—or social media updates—consistent and relevant messaging supports long-term growth and elevates visibility across channels. As trends continue to shift toward automation and personalization—refining strategies to remain agile and impactful is vital for achieving robust marketing outcomes.
At first blush, this might seem like an unexceptional bit of prose. It’s not howlingly bad, but there’s a definite lack of spark and spirit. It’s very…beige. This genericism is often one of the biggest tells.
AI-generated text often lacks depth. In the passage above, the AI says that businesses use content marketing to drive measurable results but gives no indication of what that actually looks like in practice. A human author, on the other hand, would likely provide much-needed context to clarify their point. But AI tends to speak in platitudes and struggles to support its claims with specific examples. And when it does include specific examples, they may not be accurate since AI has a tendency to hallucinate. Limitations in its training data can also prevent it from citing current statistics or reflecting recent developments.
As AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous, genuine creativity can shine. Creators who are willing to craft authentic and meaningful content will stand out in a sea of algorithmic mediocrity.
There are other signs, too.
- Note the prevalence of em-dashes. While they’re used by plenty of human authors, AI tends to pepper its prose with them.
- AI has a marked fondness for certain words, including ‘essential,’ ‘drive,’ ‘robust,’ and ‘leverage’ (all of which appear in the sample text).
- AI loves modifying or qualifying nouns (“essential strategy,” “robust marketing outcomes”).
- AI’s word choices can be just a bit off. The final sentence of the sample paragraph feels off. “Agile” doesn’t pair well with “strategy.” Agility requires a degree of agency, which a strategy cannot have.
Why does this matter?
Being able to spot AI writing matters even if you’re an AI refusenik. In a world that’s increasingly saturated by AI content, the ability to recognize it is part of modern digital literacy. Because AI content can be misleading, either by accident or design, it requires a heightened level of scrutiny from readers, and those who can identify it have a significant advantage.
Just as driving goes beyond stepping on the gas and hoping the car takes you to where you want to go, proper AI use requires constant human guidance.
This skill is even more important if you do use AI. Obvious AI usage can damage your reputation since it suggests you don’t care about producing quality content. If your audience believes you don’t care about your work, there’s no reason for them to care about it either. Knowing the signs of AI writing helps ensure they don’t crop up in your work.
Conclusion
As AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous, genuine creativity can shine. Creators who are willing to craft authentic and meaningful content will stand out in a sea of algorithmic mediocrity. If they choose to use AI, they need to use it mindfully. Whether you're a content creator or a content consumer, the ability to recognize AI writing is crucial. In a world where anyone can generate a thousand words in a few seconds, it’s important to know which words are worth reading.
About the author,
Jason Loch
