The ‘seems like AI slop’ button and what it means for your social media content

The AI social media backlash has been there from the beginning ( just lash?), but LinkedIn has made it official by introducing a "seems like AI slop” feedback option, allowing users on the platform to flag posts they believe are low-quality or overly reliant on AI.

It’s a fairly brutal, but interesting choice of words which points to something much bigger happening across social media.

This isn’t really about AI. It’s about the slop. The boring, samey content that’s currently clogging up your feed.

So, maybe it’s not about ditching AI, maybe it’s about remembering to keep things interesting. At The Content Emporium that’s what we strive for with every post.

So, what exactly is AI slop?

LinkedIn describes AI slop as low-effort, AI-generated content that might appear polished but lacks a unique perspective or any real substance at all.

You know the ones.

Posts that have a whole lot of words, but don't actually say anything. Identical thought leadership formulas (yawn). Comments that simply rephrase the post above them. Essentially, copy that could have been written by anyone.

The problem isn’t necessarily that AI was involved. It’s that the human in control of the robot didn’t bother to engage.

LinkedIn has been pretty clear on this distinction. It says AI can be useful for refining language, but posts and comments should still represent the person’s own voice and perspective.

The platform is doing more than giving users a feedback option. It says it is also on the lookout for posts that appear generic and repetitive and these are less likely to be distributed beyond the author’s immediate network.

The AI slop backlash beyond LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s update feels significant because it puts a label on a frustration social audiences have been expressing for a while.

Generative AI dramatically lowered the barrier to creating content. Suddenly, brands could produce blogs, posts, images, comments and videos at a scale that would previously have required considerably more time and resources.

But, when polished content can be generated in mere moments, it stops being impressive. Audiences increasingly value the things that are harder to manufacture: real expertise, specific experiences, distinctive opinions, recognisable voices and actual personality.

Being human is becoming a competitive advantage

For brands that means looking beyond AI when it comes to content and focusing on the people that make you unique.

That makes formats such as employee-generated content, behind-the-scenes video, interviews, customer stories, reactive content and genuine thought leadership increasingly important.

The first question every brand should be asking is: “what can we create that nobody else could?”

This isn't the end of AI-generated content (soz, babes)

It’s too late to stuff the robot back in the water-cooled cupboard now. It will continue to shape content, but how much control we allow it to take is crucial.

Using AI doesn't automatically make something AI slop and typing every caption into a blank document doesn't magically make it interesting either (people can be dull too FACTS).

AI remains an incredibly useful tool for marketers. It can accelerate research, develop initial ideas, interrogate strategies, repurpose material, analyse information, polish copy and get you past the dreaded blank page.

LinkedIn itself continues to recognise that AI can support content creation. Its advice is essentially to treat AI as a tool rather than a substitute for your own voice.

And that really is the distinction we need to make. AI can make the process more efficient, but it shouldn’t be doing the thinking – that’s what your brain is for, silly.

What should brands do differently with AI and social content?

The shift towards more authentic social content doesn't require you to throw your AI tools into the sea.

But it does require you to become more critical of your content and ensure that it’s not veering towards that boring middle line. Does it contain an idea, experience or perspective that's genuinely yours?

Use specific examples instead of generic observations. Have an opinion. Tell stories. Let people sound like themselves. And above all make all social content valuable to your audience.

Less slop. More substance

LinkedIn's “Seems like AI slop” button might sound like a small product update, but it reflects a much bigger change in how audiences are responding to AI-generated content.

The mid-voice fatigue has set in and we need the jolt of some real people to make content interesting again.

The brands that win won't necessarily be the ones that reject AI. They'll be the ones that understand where it adds value and, crucially, where humans can add more.

If you're struggling to find your unique brand voice, we can help. Let's talk.