Merriam-Webster Selects "Slop" as Word of the Year Amid Concerns Over Low-Quality Online Content – Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Merriam-Webster has named "slop" as its word of the year, reflecting widespread concerns about the surge of low-quality, often AI-generated content. This selection highlights growing anxieties over how artificial intelligence is affecting content quality and the overall health of online discourse.

Who should care: AI product leaders, ML engineers, data science teams, technology decision-makers, and innovation leaders.

What happened?

Merriam-Webster’s choice of "slop" as the word of the year marks a significant cultural moment, capturing the increasing frustration with the flood of unappetizing intellectual and emotional content online. The term "slop" is used to describe content that lacks substance, coherence, or value—qualities often attributed to the rapidly growing volume of AI-generated material. This decision responds to the mounting awareness that much of today’s digital content is not only overwhelming in quantity but also deficient in quality, contributing to information overload and the erosion of meaningful conversations on the internet. The designation reflects broader societal concerns about the role AI plays in shaping digital content landscapes. Many experts and users alike view the proliferation of such content as a threat to the credibility and trustworthiness of online information. The problem extends beyond the sheer volume of content to its impact on public discourse, where distinguishing credible sources from noise becomes increasingly difficult. Merriam-Webster’s spotlight on "slop" underscores the urgency of addressing these challenges as AI-generated content becomes more pervasive and influential.

Why now?

The timing of this selection coincides with intensified scrutiny of AI-generated content amid rapid advancements in machine learning and natural language processing over the past 18 months. These technological leaps have fueled an exponential increase in AI-driven content creation, much of which is criticized for its lack of depth, originality, and reliability. As AI tools become more accessible and widespread, the challenges of maintaining content integrity and trustworthiness grow more complex. Choosing "slop" as the word of the year signals a cultural reckoning with these developments. It reflects a collective call for greater accountability in how AI is deployed in content creation, emphasizing the need to balance innovation with responsibility. This moment serves as a reminder that while AI can generate vast amounts of content, ensuring its quality remains a critical priority.

So what?

This development carries important implications for professionals working with AI, machine learning, and data science. Strategically, it highlights the necessity of adopting a more deliberate approach to AI-driven content creation—one that prioritizes quality and credibility over sheer volume. Operationally, it underscores the need for enhanced evaluation frameworks and quality controls to verify the accuracy and trustworthiness of AI-generated outputs. The cultural shift toward scrutinizing AI’s impact on content quality could drive innovation in AI models designed to emphasize depth, nuance, and factual accuracy. Organizations that respond proactively will be better positioned to maintain audience trust and uphold information integrity in an increasingly crowded digital environment.

What this means for you:

• For AI product leaders: Prioritize developing AI solutions that improve content quality and reinforce credibility.
• For ML engineers: Focus on refining algorithms to filter out low-quality outputs and enhance content relevance.
• For data science teams: Establish robust data validation and monitoring processes to ensure the integrity of AI-generated content.

Quick Hits

• Impact / Risk: The rise of "slop" highlights the risk that AI technologies may contribute to information overload and degrade overall content quality.
• Operational Implication: Organizations must reassess AI content strategies to emphasize quality assurance and preserve audience trust.
• Action This Week: Review current AI content generation workflows for quality control; brief executives on reputational risks; explore partnerships to develop AI tools focused on enhancing content integrity.