The content flood is real, and getting worse
Something wild happened last year that most people missed. Researchers started counting how much content on the internet was actually written by humans. The number? Just under half.
By mid-2025, we crossed a line: more than 52% of everything published online was written by AI, not people. The internet is now more machine than human.
On LinkedIn, X, and Facebook, it's even worse. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Jasper let anyone pump out 20 posts, 50 tweets, and a week's worth of ideas before breakfast. The cost is nearly zero. The effort is even less. The result: your feed is flooded with content that sounds smart but says nothing.
Why “average” content is dying fast
Here's the uncomfortable truth: when everyone can generate content at scale, individual pieces become nearly impossible to discover. Think about it:
- If 10,000 people publish a LinkedIn post on “5 AI tools every founder should use,” why would anyone find yours?
- If every newsletter sends the same GPT-drafted “productivity tips,” why would anyone read past the subject line?
Google's search algorithm is already penalizing scaled content abuse that manipulates rankings without adding value. Platforms like LinkedIn and X are quietly adjusting their feeds to surface posts with genuine engagement, not just keyword-stuffed bait.
The “content middle class” is collapsing. Generic posts that used to get decent reach now get buried. Average creators who relied on volume over value are seeing their metrics fall off a cliff.
The trust problem: audiences are getting smarter
People are developing AI content fatigue. They can sense when something was written by a machine, even if they can't explain why. The tone feels off. The examples are too generic. The insights are shallow.
This creates a trust crisis: if audiences assume everything might be AI-generated, they become skeptical of all content, including the good stuff. That skepticism is actually an opportunity—creators who can prove they're real, that they actually did the work, are cutting through louder than ever.
What AI content can't fake, yet
Here's what still separates human creators from the flood:
Real screenshots and data
AI can't show you my actual dashboard, analytics, or revenue numbers. Those are proprietary and prove I'm not just theorizing. AI can write fast. It can't show receipts, share real failures, or build trust through lived experience.
Behind-the-scenes mess
AI generates clean, polished narratives. Real creators show the bugs, the failed launches, the awkward pivots. That honesty builds trust faster than any listicle.
Specific stories and examples
“I tried this and here's what happened” beats “experts say this works” every single time. AI can simulate expertise. It can't simulate your lived experience.
Strong, earned opinions
AI hedges. It says “this might work” or “it depends.” Real creators take stands, call out bad advice, and defend their perspective with receipts.
Community interaction
AI can draft replies, but it can't build real relationships. The creators who show up in comments, DMs, and conversations consistently are the ones audiences remember.
The market is splitting into two tiers
We're heading toward a bifurcated creator economy:
Low-value tier: endless AI-generated slop competing on volume and speed. These creators chase algorithms, flood feeds, and burn out when engagement drops.
High-value tier: premium, human-centered content that commands attention through authenticity, originality, and depth. These creators build audiences that actually care.
The gap between these two tiers is widening fast. If you're stuck in the middle, riding on “pretty good” generic content, the floor is about to fall out.
How to win in the age of AI slop
If you want to survive, and thrive, as AI floods the zone, here's the playbook: be real, show receipts, and let the slop drown itself while you rise above.
Lead with proprietary insight
Share data, screenshots, and results that only you have access to. AI can't replicate what it has never seen.
Show your work
Document your process, not just your conclusions. People trust creators who explain how they arrived at an answer.
Use AI as a draft, not a voice
Let AI handle the first pass, then rewrite it in your actual tone with your specific examples. The final output should sound like you, not a chatbot.
Double down on personality
Your quirks, your opinions, your sense of humor—these are unfakeable. Lean into what makes you different, not what makes you “safe.”
Go narrow and deep
Instead of “10 AI tools for everyone,” write “the exact AI workflow I use to cut my content time by 15 hours a week.” Specificity wins. If you are struggling with information overload while researching, check out our guide on filtering the noise with an AI news radar, or see how to turn loose observations into high-value assets in Your Notes Are Useless.
Why this is actually good news
Yes, AI is flooding the internet with garbage. But that flood is raising the value of real, human-created work.
In a world of infinite generic content, finite human attention becomes the most valuable resource. The creators who understand this shift, who focus on authentic connection and original insight, aren't just surviving the AI content wave. They're thriving in it.
Average content is dying. Good riddance.