“Slop” Was the Word of the Year in 2025 – Here’s How Employers Can Get Smarter About AI Use in 2026
Merriam-Webster recently named “slop” as its 2025 Word of the Year, highlighting the surge of low-quality, AI-generated digital content that now clogs our inboxes and social feeds. While this development serves as a warning to employers and business leaders, it also presents an opportunity to differentiate oneself in the marketplace. By merging the power of AI with human judgment, organizations can capture the authenticity that will be in high demand in 2026.
What “AI Slop” Looks Like at Work
In 2025, AI slop permeated every aspect of the workplace. Some common manifestations include:
- Generic emails and corporate communications that lack substance.
- Repetitive and vague business content that may even contain inaccuracies.
- Resumes and cover letters that appear overly polished, matching job postings too closely.
- Performance evaluations filled with corporate jargon like “synergy” and “leveraging core competencies.”
- Marketing copy that, while initially appealing, is easily forgettable.
Why Employers Should Care
AI slop is more than just an annoyance; it poses significant business risks:
- Brand erosion: Low-quality content signals a lack of care for customers and employees, leading to a damaging perception that is hard to reverse.
- Productivity theater: While AI slop may create the illusion of productivity, it often results in increased downstream work due to necessary revisions and clarifications.
- Cultural damage: Delegating thinking to AI can erode human judgment and creativity, which are vital for any organization.
- Legal exposure: Poorly generated policies or communications can misstate legal obligations and conflict with existing policies.
What Employers Should Do to Avoid AI Slop
Fortunately, a few straightforward steps can help organizations use AI responsibly:
1. Define “acceptable AI use,” not just “permitted AI use”
Many corporate AI policies are outdated. Instead of merely stating where AI is allowed, companies should specify:
- Where AI can assist and where it should be avoided.
- Where human judgment must take precedence.
- That AI output must always be reviewed before use.
2. Assign ownership for AI-assisted work
Every AI-generated document should have a human owner responsible for accuracy, tone, and consistency with company values and policies.
3. Train managers to spot slop
Managers and content approvers do not need to be AI experts, but they must recognize signs of AI usage, such as:
- Generic language applicable to any role.
- Perfectly structured paragraphs lacking a human voice.
- Overuse of em-dashes for nuance.
- Repetitive constructions that inflate points unnecessarily.
- False confidence in oversimplified statements.
- Buzzword stacking without concrete examples.
4. Slow down high-risk uses
For areas such as legal, HR, and compliance, ensure that human review is mandatory before any communication is delivered.
5. Measure outcomes, not output
Shift performance conversations away from speed and quantity, focusing instead on whether communications effectively solve problems and reduce follow-up inquiries.
FP is All In on AI – But the Right Kind of AI
It is crucial to recognize the potential of AI while also understanding the responsibilities that come with it. By following the outlined steps, organizations can harness AI effectively without contributing to the issue of slop.
