Over 20% of YouTube is now “AI slop” and they’re making millions: Report

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A recent report shows that over 20% of the videos recommended to new YouTube viewers are now considered low-quality, quickly-made content – often called “AI slop.” Surprisingly, some of these channels are earning millions of dollars.

With creators increasingly worried about AI-generated spam, widespread account bans, and difficulty getting their work seen, new data indicates these issues are getting worse.

Kapwing, a video editing platform, created a new YouTube account and tracked what videos were recommended to it, providing insights into the experience of first-time users.

A recent analysis of the first 500 videos shown on YouTube Shorts revealed that over a fifth (21%)—104 videos—were created using artificial intelligence. Another significant portion—33%—was categorized as “brainrot,” meaning it was simple, repetitive content designed to grab attention rather than offer substance.

More than half of the content we suggested was either low-quality or seemed designed to simply game the system, rather than provide genuine value.

AI slop dominates global trending charts

Kapwing studied the most popular 100 YouTube channels in each country to find out how many were mainly creating content using artificial intelligence.

Okay, so I’ve been looking at the numbers, and it’s wild – South Korea is way ahead when it comes to watching AI-generated content. Seriously, they’re crushing it! Their top 11 AI channels have racked up over 8.45 billion views – that’s a massive amount of ‘slop’ being consumed, and it puts them at the top of the world right now.

Pakistan comes in second with 5.34 billion views, and the United States is close behind in third with 3.39 billion.

When it comes to subscribers, however, Spain takes the lead.

Although only eight of the most popular 100 AI-generated content channels originate from Spain, Spanish creators have a combined total of 20.22 million subscribers – the highest number of any country we studied.

For comparison, the United States has 14.47 million subscribers to channels classified as AI slop.

Spain’s viewership numbers are significantly increased by the channel Imperio de Jesus, which has 5.87 million subscribers and is the second-largest channel creating AI-generated content of this type globally.

I’ve been watching this really fun channel that uses AI to make these short videos. Basically, they put Jesus in these little ‘versus’ battles – like, He’s going head-to-head with Satan or even the Grinch! It’s always set up like a quiz or a challenge, and it’s either super funny or makes you think about what’s right and wrong. It’s a really clever and entertaining idea.

Besides the first channel, there are two other Spanish-language channels with over 3.5 million followers that create similar quick, humorous, and often silly short-form videos.

The biggest AI channels in the world

The single largest AI slop channel belongs to the United States.

Okay, so I’ve been checking out these YouTube channels, and Cuentos Facinantes is seriously blowing up! They’ve got almost 6 million subscribers – just a little more than Imperio de Jesus. What’s really crazy is they’re making AI-generated videos based on Dragon Ball Z, and they’re getting billions of views. It’s wild to see them doing better than a lot of established creators!

India’s Bandar Apna Dost is the most popular channel, racking up 2.07 billion views on its AI-created videos. It’s also the most financially successful, bringing in around $4.25 million annually.

Showing just how profitable the AI world is becoming, a 21-year-old computer science student in the Philippines recently shared that he earned $9,000 in one month by creating short videos of AI-generated cartoon kittens.

YouTube pushes forward despite AI backlash

Even though many creators are complaining that low-quality AI-generated content is overwhelming YouTube and harming original creators, YouTube’s leaders aren’t indicating they plan to change anything.

CEO Neal Mohan has consistently explained that YouTube’s move towards artificial intelligence will empower more people to create content, even if they don’t have the skills or resources traditionally needed.

Mohan believes AI will bring back the spirit of early YouTube by helping a new generation of creators, and also by making it easier to find good content and keep the platform safe.

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2025-12-29 19:20