AI slop: the unhinged trend driving huge traffic

From cursed ads to AI podcasts, learn how weird, low-effort generative-AI content drives attention and sales, with tips for tools, hooks, and monetization.

Spongebob getting pulled over by a traffic cop gets 2.3 million views on X alone. It makes no sense, yet it the views make total sense.

This video is a prime example of what the internet is dubbing ‘AI slop’ - self-aware, internet fluent, slightly ironic content created with generative AI.

AI slop looks dumb, feels chaotic, and is incredibly effective at grabbing attention, engagement, and building brand personality.

So if you run a business or personal brand, listen up: creators and founders who understand the internet’s native weirdness win. 

Here’s why (and how) you should use AI slop to grow your brand.

What is AI slop? (and why is everyone talking about it?)

AI slop is the art of making content that looks wrong on purpose.

It’s intentionally low-effort, surreal, or just plain uncanny - the online equivalent of a fever dream that hits the algorithm jackpot.

Born out of brainrot culture and meme sub-communities, it’s fueled by creators experimenting with tools like Sora, Luman, and whatever new AI content platform dropped this week.

At first glance, it feels chaotic or poorly made - melting faces, offbeat voiceovers, timelines that make no sense. But underneath the mess lies a strange precision: algorithmic chaos with cultural accuracy.

It performs because it mirrors how the internet itself feels - fragmented, overstimulated, and accidentally human.

AI slop examples: when slop goes viral

The best 'AI slop' may seem random, but it's incredibly calculated. When creators (and sometimes brands) lean into the uncanny and the ironic, the results are weirdly effective.

Here’s how different flavors of slop found their moment:

Cursed food ads & fake products

Remember the AI 'McDonald’s ad' that looked like it was rendered in a dream after eating 12 Big Macs?

Note: no, McDonald's didn't really make this - it is a fan-made ad. But on YouTube alone it has over 1 million views and 3.6k comments.

Or, the AI slop 'cursed food' videos, where humans are mixed with different foods. Like this - a nonsensical AI video of a person made of donuts, eating a donut, with over 5 million views on YouTube.

(Anyone else feel nauseous?)

Yes, they can be uncomfortable to watch. But these clips spread everywhere - reposted, remixed, duetted - and getting millions of views.

AI talk shows & podcasts

Then there’s the AI podcast multiverse - baby Steve Harvey hosting Family Feud, or presidents past and current - dead and alive - coming together on a podcast.

These clips combine the uncanny realism of deepfakes with the surreal logic of meme culture.

They hit that sweet spot between remix culture and absurd believability. Viewers know it’s fake - but it feels like something that could exist, which makes it irresistible.

Brand participation (high-effort slop)

Even big brands are starting to get the joke. Kalshi, Duolingo, and a growing wave of indie creators are crafting “AI slop” intentionally - perfectly produced to look unhinged.

Duolingo leans into chaotic AI ads that blur between parody and promotion. Are we really not meant to notice the big AI bird?

Financial exchange Kalshi hired 'AI filmmaker' PJ Accetturo to create an ad using Google’s text-to-video generator Veo 3.

Featuring a man swimming in a tub of eggs, a bride riding a golf cart, and an alien at a house party, there's only one word for it - bizarre.

But it works, because the internet rewards self-awareness, not sincerity.
Audiences want brands that get the bit. When a brand purposely makes something weird - and admits it - they feel like one of us.

In a world trained to scroll past perfection, a little chaos is the best clickbait.

Why AI slop works: the psychology of virality

AI slop isn’t random. In fact, that Kalshi video above took time:

"This took about 300–400 generations to get 15 usable clips. One person, 2-3 days."

- PJ Accetturo

These videos and images are engineered unpredictability. AI slop hits the same brain circuits that make people rewatch car crashes, cursed memes, and “Ohio” edits at 3 a.m.

Here’s how it breaks the brain (and the algorithm) at the same time:

This is shock marketing evolved.

When brands or creators intentionally use this energy, leaning into the uncanny instead of fighting it, they tap into a primal reflex: curiosity.

And curiosity converts.

Turning AI slop into a strategy

Startups, creators, and brands can use it to punch through the algorithmic noise and reach new audiences who are allergic to traditional marketing.

Here’s how to turn slop into strategy:

1. Define the job (and the guardrails)

Remember - this isn't random. So, like any marketing move, you have to define your goals from the get-go.

• Primary goal: Why are you creating this AI campaign? Is it to increase your reach? To gain more followers? Or are you funneling your audience to make more sales?
• Create a one-line brief: Put your goals into a brief, like this: “Win attention with funny, uncanny micro-ads about X.”
• Set your boundaries: What is a 'hard no' for your business? Think issues like trademark misuse, real-person impersonation without consent, and medical/financial claims.

2. Pick your platform & success metric

Marketers, you know the drill. Outline how you will know that the tactic is successful.

• Where will the content be shared? TikTok, reels, and YouTube shorts are winners for short-form AI slop.
• What are you success metrics? Think about hook rate, average watch time, and shares and likes.
• Also consider: follows per post, profile visits, and clicks to your landing page.

3. Choose a repeatable format (pick one to start)

There are so many AI slop formats to choose from. Here are some of them, and an idea of what that would look like:

• Cursed product ad: “Introducing the new [thing] with too many features.”, an ad that leaves viewers infuriated.
• AI podcast bit: your AI mascot interviews an object (a raccoon, a sneaker, a historical figure).
• Cursed how-to: 10-second tutorial that goes delightfully wrong and has watchers screaming at the screen.
• Mascot POV: glitchy avatar “explains” your product incorrectly.
• Before/after fever dream: transformation that makes no sense but loops perfectly.

Don't try all at once. Pick one, test it out, and then move on. Once you find a format that works, stick with it.

4. Build a “vibe kit” (so it’s fast every time)

When you have your format, make your AI branding kit, aka your AI slop 'vibe kit'. This sets the tone for all the content you will be generating and pushing out there. It can include:

• Visual motifs: melting objects, extra fingers, floaty camera, fake reflections.
• Audio pack: 3 odd instrumentals, 2 robotic voices, 1 trending sound to remix.
• Caption tone: lowercase, deadpan, self-drag (“made by our ai intern”).

5. Script the hook (5–8 words only)

Talk all you want in these clips, but no-one will hear you. All you need is a short, catchy hook - then let the weird and wonderful content do it's work.

Hook templates:

• “this ad feels illegal”
• “we asked ai for a normal ad”
• “do not watch this twice”
• “pov: marketing lost the plot”

6. Generate raw chaos (10 clips > 1 perfect)

Now, it's time to create your content.

There are a lot of tools that you can use. Taro - in the video above - shows how you can create videos in Sora AI. Taro walks you through the whole process, but if you want to work with him more closely, join his whop: 4orte Studios, and learn how you can make money on socials.

You do need access to Sora, through a referral link. But, there are other tools that you can use:

• Runway (Gen-3): strong motion and consistency; widely used; good for surreal ads and loops.
• Pika (v1.5): fast, social-first, with “Pikaffects” (melt, crush, etc.) that are perfect for cursed visuals.
• Luma Dream Machine (Ray2): more photoreal, 1080p clips with keyframes; great when you want “too real” slop

When you have found a tool or platform, all you need to do is add in your prompts and start creating.

Here's how Taro created his prompt for a video just like this:

"I typed into Chat GPT: 'generate a text-to-video prompt for Sora AI to make a Capybara run into a butcher section of a Walmart and steal a t-bone steak, running off with it and out of the store - this will be from the perspective of a security guard's body cam'.

It went ahead and gave me a really long prompt, then all you have to do is say 'make this into a simplified paragraph. You then get a nice paragprah that you can copy straight into Sora to generate your video".

- Taro Creates, 4orte Studios

Here's a template that you can try out for a chaotic, AI slop style video for a product:

You can add in things like “fast cuts, text overlays, product morphs into unrelated items”, and also include negative cues such as: “no gore, no brands, no celebrity likeness”.

Set an output target of 10 raw clips (6–12s each). This gives you a lot of raw content to start with.

7. Edit for slop (don’t over-polish)

Ok, it's time to edit.

Remember, we aren't aiming for perfection here. So create fast cuts, keep mistakes in the content, and add in hard zooms.

Another tactic is to add in captions that slightly misdescribe what is happening. That way, the viewer catches the mistake and watches again (and engages to tell you that your content is wrong).

Finally, make it a loop. Repeat the last 0.5–1.0s under a punch-in so the viewer isn’t sure that it has ended.

8. Package to post

Let's get the slop out into the world!

First, package each post. Here's how to put it all together:

• Format: 9:16, 6–12s, loopable (last 0.5–1s repeats under a punch-in).
• First frame = hook: text & voice over in the first 0.2s (“we asked ai for a normal ad”).
• Captions: burned-in, fast, sometimes slightly wrong for comedic effect.
• Title/caption formula:
  Hook one-liner plus self-aware tag & soft CTA
  • Examples:
    • “do not watch this twice. (we’re sorry)”
    • “marketing said ‘tasteful’. this is what we got. see link.”
    • “ai made our ad so we didn’t have to. more chaos → bio”
• Hashtags: 2–3 broad + 2 niche
  • Broad: #aislop #weirdcore #aivideo #shorts
  • Niche: #yourcategory #yourbrand #yourproduct
• Pinned comment (seed the bit):
  • “explain this ad in 3 words”
  • “what did you just watch?”
  • “wrong answers only: what is this selling”
• Profile/CTA: link in bio to your business page (with UTM). Pin your best slop post to profile.

9. What's next?

Don't just post and ditch.

In the first hour, make sure that you are warming up the algorithm.

Reply to every comment (1–3 words, deadpan), drop 1–2 reply-with-video responses to the top comments (5–8s, looped).

And if engagement lags at 20–30 mins, edit the caption (swap the hook line) or change the pinned comment to a spicier prompt.

Is AI slop slowing down?

Not any time soon. High-effort slop is already creeping in, and polished brands are faking low effort on purpose.

My bet? This becomes the default vibe for brand and product launches and stunts: chaotic on the surface, meticulously engineered underneath.

AI is just getting better, and with tools like Sora, you can create hyper-realistic looking scenes of completely absurdist scenarios. Like dashcam footage of cartoon characters getting pulled over. Or the entire UK government replaced with Roadmen.

This clip launched 2 days ago and already has 900k views, almost 40k likes, and over 60k shares. Wild.

And this one? A high-effort AI GTA-style Whop ad.

Fake scenarios and a video game parody - all made with AI.

Slop will feel more interactive and personal too, with audiences remixing on contact, and feeds tuning the weirdness to each viewer.

Which brings us to the fun part: turning all that unhinged attention into revenue.

How to use AI slop to make money online

AI slop doesn't get get you attention - it's a revenue stack.

The first layer is platform payouts and ad revenue. Ad revenue, bonuses, and sponsors from YouTube - and creator funds, gifts, and sponsorship from TikTok.

Then, there's brand deals & affiliates. Viral weirdness is a media asset. Package your format, sell sponsored episodes, and add affiliate links in your bio.

And of course, there's AI as a funnel. Use slop as top-of-funnel, with a soft CTA (“more chaos → bio”) to capture emails/DM opt-ins and retarget with offers.

But the money stream doesn't end there.

Once you know your stuff, productize your knowledge: sell your education through courses and communities on Whop, just like AI Video Labs.

Whether you’re a creator, a startup, or a marketer, the move is simple: make better slop - and monetize with Whop.