According to Kapwing research, AI content or brainrot videos are flooding YouTube.
Researchers identified the top 100 trending YouTube channels in every country and flagged those categorized as AI slop channels. Data on views, subscribers and estimated yearly revenue was sourced via SocialBlade and then consolidated by country to assess overall reach.
Additionally, they launched a new YouTube account to track the prevalence of AI content and brainrot videos across the first 500 YouTube shorts encountered.
The results showed that 21-33% of YouTube’s feed is made up of AI slop videos. Spain has the highest number of subscribers (20.22 million) to trending AI slop channels. Meanwhile, South Korea has the highest total view count for AI slop content with 8.45 billion views.
The most-watched AI slop channel is India-based Bandar Apna Dost with 2.08 billion views. The channel’s estimated annual revenue is approximately $4.25 million.
U.S.-based Cuentos Facinantes is the AI slop channel with the highest number of subscribers at 5.95 million.
According to the research, new YouTube users’ feeds contain 21% AI-generated content and 33% brainrot videos.
AI slop is creating a visibility and trust crisis for content creators. Meanwhile, YouTube faces a dilemma over the advertising value and perceived quality of AI-generated content.
Experts point to media literacy and critical viewing skills as key solutions.
