AI has opened up new creative possibilities for small businesses, including its ability to break through the “blank page problem,” giving smaller teams a starting point for brainstorming or developing initial strategies. But in the rush to capitalize on generative AI, many have unknowingly entered the trap that is “AI slop.”
AI slop refers to the oversaturation of generic, low-quality, and often poorly rendered AI-generated visuals filling digital platforms like websites, ads, and social media. The term emerged in response to the outputs of early AI image generators, which started circulating in 2022. Then, in 2024, “AI slop” entered the mainstream as the volume of low-grade, AI-generated content expanded, becoming inescapable in search results and on social media.
These images may look normal at first, but a closer look reveals uncanny details like distorted or “perfect” people; cliched images of gender, age and ethnicity; an unnatural smooth color tone, lacking texture and detail; and the lean into sensitive subjects to create reactions to drive clicks—all elements that distract, confuse, and ultimately fail to connect with people.
The rise of AI slop is overwhelming marketers, creating new challenges for small businesses trying to differentiate themselves and maintain a visually compelling brand presence.
And audiences are noticing.
Accenture’s Life Trends 2025 report found that 59.9% of consumers are questioning the authenticity of online content more than ever before. The influx of generic, derivative visuals has consumers questioning all that they see, and small businesses that rely on AI without the right safeguards or quality control measures in place risk pushing audiences further away.
For marketers, rising above the competition begins with compelling imagery, and with attention spans shrinking, your visual choices are now more important than ever to ensure you make a lasting impression. While AI has the potential to boost efficiency and creativity, relying on the wrong tools or using them without a clear strategy can erode trust with consumers and even put your business in legal trouble. When used with intention and care, generative AI can help SMBs create authentic, commercially safe visuals that define the line between quality and clutter.
What Is “AI Slop” and Why Should SMBs Care?
Low-quality AI-generated images are a brand risk for numerous reasons, and those risks begin with the lack of intentionality and creative expertise behind their creation. The images we call “slop” are not well-thought-out and deliberately crafted, but rather mass-produced through inexpensive means.
A need for quick, cheap results draws users towards unvetted options that are typically trained on content scraped off the internet, much of it unlicensed and unpermissioned. However, if businesses use these same tools for commercial purposes, they expose themselves to potential copyright issues and legal liabilities. The outputs of these tools can also perpetuate bias and inaccuracy, further damaging a brand’s reputation.
These legal and brand risks are highly dangerous for small businesses, which often lack the resources to manage the financial fallout from copyright violations or reputational damage. It is critical that SMBs prioritize authenticity in their visual content strategies to better align their brand with what today’s consumers value most.
Consumers Want the Real Thing
Audiences are increasingly attuned to what “feels real” and what doesn’t, and they’re quick to disengage when visuals are presented as misleading or impersonal. According to iStock’s VisualGPS research platform, 98% of consumers say authentic images and videos are crucial for earning trust, but 53% believe AI-generated visuals can’t be perceived as authentic.
For SMBs that rely on trust and loyalty to sustain their business and drive growth, disconnected visuals are likely to spark skepticism. Consumers want to see people they can relate to or businesses that reflect their values, which is where SMBs have a unique advantage, as they have especially strong ties to their communities and customers. AI can absolutely support that connection, but only if guided by thoughtful input and the right creative direction
4 Ways to Avoid AI Slop and Stay Visually Authentic
1. Balance AI with Human Creativity
Human creativity brings lived experience, context, and intention, and is the reason why visuals created through traditional creative tools feel more emotionally resonant and ultimately, more trustworthy. AI should be used to augment, not replace, human creativity. A healthy collaboration between human insight and AI efficiency will help your brand tell its story with impact and integrity, while simultaneously streamlining production. If a visual looks inauthentic and fake, lacking detail, texture, and emotion, question your end use and think about whether it’s the right fit to represent your brand.
2. Use AI Tools Trained on Licensed, Commercially Safe Content
Many AI image generators scrape the open web to train their tools, resulting in outputs that may infringe on existing copyrights. They also tend to output cultural cliches in generations featuring people, as the internet is unfortunately rife with stereotypical depictions of different groups and identities. Both of these problems can create serious trouble for your business, from high legal fees to damaged consumer trust.
Instead, choose platforms designed for commercial use, with built-in legal protections and trained on licensed, commercially safe content, ensuring your visuals are not only high-quality but risk-free and legally compliant to use.
3. Get Specific: The Prompt is Everything
The best AI outputs start with thoughtful, detailed human input, and one of the easiest ways to fall into the “AI slop” trap is to use vague or overly broad prompts. To better match your visuals to the identity of your brand, include descriptive language and specific details, including the audience, setting, composition, mood, and even lighting.
Another way to fall into creating “AI Slop” is by overusing large-language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to enhance your prompts. Though they help create the long, detailed prompts that make many AI-generated results better, they tend to repeat patterns, themes, and add non-visual words that the model doesn’t know how to interpret. If using an LLM to enhance your prompt, start with a human-written, well-crafted prompt describing what you want in 10-15 words. Then let the LLM build on the details that are the most important to your vision.
The more specific your prompt, the better the image, and the closer you’ll get to generating visually compelling content every time. Be concise and visually descriptive in the elements that are key to what you want to see in the output.
If you’re new to prompt writing and need help getting started, helpful guides are available to help you better understand how to draft tailored, effective prompts to generate authentic and on-brand visuals.
4. Review and Refine
Even when you are fully satisfied with a result, try exploring different variations of that image and save the active prompt text for future reference, which can further streamline your creative marketing processes. Keep experimenting and iterating with different phrases until the image fully reflects your brand’s identity and values.
This practice builds upon your brand’s existing creative strategy and content, and as a result, strengthens trust and credibility.
Where Trust Meets Creativity
In the competition for consumers’ attention, quality and authenticity play an important role in standing out in a crowded marketplace. By choosing tools trained on licensed, commercially safe content and taking the time to create each visual with human insight, SMBs can avoid the trap of AI slop and deliver impactful visual content that resonates and reinforces their brand identity. As generative AI becomes a more integral part of small business marketing toolkits, the brands that understand how to use it effectively and responsibly will be the ones that audiences trust.
Bill Bon is the senior director of Creative Operations at iStock in Seattle. He collaborates on the development of iStock and Getty Images’ AI products, leads creative content ingestion, and supports the regional creative teams in working with contributors.
Bill is passionate about the ways AI can evolve the creative process, enabling artists to refine their styles and produce new types of art. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Art and Design, a photographer, a 3D printing and watch enthusiast, and an avid skier.
Photo Created with Generative AI by iStock
