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AI Slop (noun): a catch-all for the low-effort, high-volume content that’s the internet’s most boring buffet.

We know you’ve seen it.

Not just AI-generated content, but the broader wave of overly smooth, overly safe, weirdly interchangeable “thought leadership” that feels like it was assembled by a very polite robot who’s afraid of being wrong. 🤖

People are noticing. And more importantly, they’re starting to get bored or lose trust altogether.

We’re officially in the “this all sounds the same” era.

Executives like Alex Karp have been openly side-eyeing the abundance of low-quality, mass-produced content. The concern isn’t just how much is being created, it’s what that scale is doing to clarity, credibility, and trust.

That skepticism is showing up in culture, too. Almond Breeze and the Jonas Brothers basically looked at AI fakery and said, “lol absolutely not.”🫸 

A recent campaign shows them rejecting overly produced, AI-style advertising tropes (floating product shots, polished fantasy worlds, the usual) in favor of something almost aggressively simple: “Almond Breeze. It’s really good.”

The message underneath all of it is pretty clear: 

❌ Speed is not the same as substance

❌ Volume is not the same as value

People are starting to realize that AI can subtract value, not add to it (chef’s kiss, KO Insights). And once you see that pattern, it’s hard to unsee it.

Entrepreneur said it beautifully: content 👏 credibility 👏 will 👏 outperform 👏 volume.

(They didn’t clap. That was our dramatic effect. See? Human.)

AI slop is creating a pretty big challenge for PR and executive communications. Our industry has always relied on differentiation—helping brands, spokespeople, and executives sound distinct enough to earn attention in crowded spaces.

But when speed and scale take priority, a lot of that differentiation goes away. Suddenly, everyone is saying the same thing, in the same tone, with slightly different branding layered on top.

And the result isn’t just sameness. It’s erosion of voice, clarity, and trust.

The irony now is that the more AI-ized everything becomes, the more human voice stands out by default.

Not because it’s louder, but because it’s different.

Being polished has stopped being the goal. What actually stands out now isn’t perfection, but perspective and personality. 

✔️ A point of view that isn’t optimized to offend no one and connect with everyone.

✔️ An executive who sounds like an actual person with context and humor.

✔️ An opinion that isn’t bundled up in bubble wrap.

Real is being rewarded again.

And the most “professional” thing you can do right now might be the least corporate-sounding version of yourself.

One thing we’ve been consistently guiding our executive clients toward lately is leaning into their actual personalities instead of defaulting to ~PoLiShEd sPoKeSpErSoN~ mode.

The leaders cutting through the noise right now aren’t the most rehearsed; they’re the most human. A little quirky, a little opinionated, and comfy sounding like themselves.

Not reckless or unfiltered. Just recognizable.

Honestly, it’s landing better. People respond more to leaders who feel like, well, real people. The more automated communication becomes, the more valuable a distinct human voice gets.

Let’s crowdsource some humanity: what’s the most “oh wow, a human wrote this” thing you’ve read lately? Reply and share the goods.

Ash & Lizzy

Who's going where and why it matters. Not just job shifts - power dynamics, layoffs, and who's headed out.

🎉 Founder Brew, a new publication under the Morning Brew umbrella, launched earlier this month to focus on founder stories.

🎙️ Former The Wall Street Journal tech journalist and co-founder of The Verge, Joanna Stern, is doing the podcast rounds about her new book that follows the year she invited AI into nearly every aspect of her life. She also talks about starting her new media company.

🧳 Matt Brown is SFGATE’s new tech reporter, covering everything tech across California (and there is always much to discuss).

💻 Semafor announced Silicon Valley & The World. This live journalism event will bring together top technology founders and CEOs, senior government officials, key finance figures, and decision-makers from the world’s most consequential economies for two days of live journalism in Silicon Valley. Stay tuned—the inaugural event will convene in November 2026.

🧳 Sophie Kleeman has moved from Business Insider to WIRED, where she’ll be editing blogs from the business desk.

Get to know Ashley and Lizzy, learn more about The Colab, or pass The Brief along to a friend who should be reading this too.