Let’s be honest. The internet, for all its wonders, is mostly made of filler. It’s a digital continent paved with competent-but-uninspired listicles, reheated takes, and articles that exist only to answer a question you asked Google once at 2 AM. Most content is, and always has been, mediocre. It’s the background noise of our attention economy.
And yet, a strange panic has set in among creators. The rise of AI has introduced a new term of contempt: “AI slop.” It’s used to describe anything that feels a little too generic, a little too formulaic, a little too clearly churned out by a machine. The purists clutch their pearls, declaring that this automated content is polluting the digital ecosystem.
But they’re missing the point entirely. If you’re building a business or a brand with content, you’re not an artist guarding the gates of a museum. You’re a content entrepreneur, and you’re playing a numbers game. The goal isn’t to make every single piece a masterpiece; the goal is to build a system that works.Think of your content library as an army. You have your special forces—your deeply human, insightful, and personal flagship work. The kind of content that forges real connection and proves your unique value. These are your heroes. But no army runs on heroes alone. It needs foot soldiers. It needs logistics, support, and a whole lot of people holding the line.That’s what your so-called “AI slop” is. It’s the foot soldier.
It’s the blog post that neatly summarizes a common industry problem. It’s the social media caption that clearly explains a basic concept. It’s the product description that’s accurate and clean. Is it going to win a Pulitzer? No. But it doesn’t have to. Its job is to show up, consistently, and hold a position. Its job is to pad your catalog, fill your calendar, and catch the long tail of search queries that your magnum opus would be wasted on.The brutal truth of the algorithm is that consistency is a ranking signal. A steady drumbeat of publication tells the platforms you are active and relevant. This “filler” content creates a foundation of SEO and topical authority that makes your truly great work more likely to be discovered. It’s the logistical backbone that allows your special forces to carry out their missions successfully.
Waiting for divine inspiration to strike for every single tweet, post, or article is a luxury few can afford. It leads to the number one killer of online ventures: radio silence. A decent piece of content published is always, without exception, better than a perfect piece that lives in a draft folder. The “slop” keeps the engine running while you, the human at the center of it all, have the time and space to do the work that actually matters.So, let the purists sneer. While they’re meticulously hand-crafting their next quarterly blog post, you’ll be building a content empire. An empire needs roads, warehouses, and infrastructure just as much as it needs palaces. Use the tools at your disposal to build that infrastructure. Deploy your army of foot soldiers to secure the territory. Then, when the time is right, send in your heroes to truly conquer it.
