YouTube Algorithm: New Study Reveals 21% of Recommendations for New Users are “AI Slop”
Tech News 24×7, 29 December, 2025: A comprehensive new research report released in late December 2025 has ignited a fierce debate over the future of digital content, revealing that over one-fifth of the videos recommended to new YouTube users are low-quality, AI-generated “slop.”
The study, conducted by the video-editing platform Kapwing, analyzed 15,000 of the world’s top YouTube channels and simulated the experience of a first-time viewer. The findings suggest that the platform’s recommendation engine is increasingly prioritizing mass-produced, synthetic content over traditional, human-led creativity.
Key Findings
- Spain’s trending AI slop channels have a combined 20.22 million subscribers — the most of any country.
- In South Korea, the trending AI slop channels have amassed 8.45 billion views.
- The AI slop channel with the most views is India’s Bandar Apna Dost (2.07 billion views).
- U.S.-based slop channel Cuentos Facinantes [sic] has the most subscribers of any slop channel globally (5.95 million).
- Brainrot videos account for around 33% of the first 500 YouTube shorts on a new user’s feed.
The Rise of the “Sloppers”
The term “slop,” recently crowned as Merriam-Webster’s 2025 Word of the Year, refers to low-quality digital material produced in high volumes using generative AI. According to the report, this is no longer a fringe issue but a multi-million dollar industry.
- Algorithmic Saturation: In a test using a fresh, “untrained” account, 104 out of the first 500 videos (20.8%) recommended were identified as AI slop.
- The “Brainrot” Factor: When expanding the criteria to include “brainrot”—repetitive, nonsensical content designed to farm engagement—the figure jumped to roughly 33%.
- Financial Incentives: Researchers identified 278 channels that upload only AI-generated content. These channels have amassed a staggering 63 billion views and generate an estimated $117 million in annual ad revenue.
Global Slop Trends
The report highlights that while the creation of slop is a global phenomenon, specific regions have become hubs for high-viewership synthetic content.
| Country | Key Metric | Top Performer |
| India | Highest View Count | Bandar Apna Dost (2.4B+ views) |
| South Korea | Most Efficient Views | Three Minutes Wisdom ($4M annual est. revenue) |
| Spain | Highest Subscriber Density | 20M+ subscribers follow trending AI channels |
| USA | Most Subscribed Channel | Cuentos Facinantes (5.95M subscribers) |
One of the most prominent examples cited is the Indian channel “Bandar Apna Dost,” which features surreal adventures of an AI-generated rhesus monkey and a Hulk-like character.
