Don't slop me now: Why generative AI is making B2B boring again

by Shaun Hickman

If you go on LinkedIn and tap the options on any post, you’ll now see the “Seems like AI slop” button.

In the first two weeks of going live, over one million people reported slop. Despite its unassuming name, this feature signals a much more divisive and impactful trend in the world of B2B. As every person and their dog takes notice of generative AI, and the power to “create” at pace, we are now seeing our feeds flooded with AI responses posing as thought leadership. And audiences are tired.

While AI can be a useful coaching tool, and rapid curator of insights, the over-reliance on generated copy (and imagery) is smoothing off all the edges of comms, which should feel thought-provoking and thoughtful. The biggest kicker of all? This trend is making B2B brands live up to a reputation they’ve tried so hard to shake – being boring.

What’s driving the rise of AI slop in B2B?

The push and pull dynamic of AI comes into sharp focus when you look at how LinkedIn has been talking about it over the past year. Since the start of the year the platform has:

• Increased its presence in AI citations
• Limited the reach of AI-generated content
• Integrated AI recruitment and job application options
• Added a new AI-powered ad copy generation feature
• Implemented AI slop reporting on posts
• Shared numerous guides on optimising content for AI

These are just a handful of the updates, but they really bring to life how these platforms are torn between pushing constant AI innovation, and pulling back on the negative perception surrounding AI-gen content.

From a commercial perspective, businesses are now having to weigh up the promise of efficiency with the risk of inauthenticity. When budgets are tight and resources are low, it’s unsurprising that AI is the go-to tool. However, the long-term impact could be huge when you’re leaving your brand perception and trust in the hands of a robot.

Turning the tide (on slop) with B2B influence

For every identikit “hot take” and faceless brand image, true human expertise and perspective is still standing tall.

We’re seeing it in the C-suite leaders, who are bringing personality to corporate circles. And we’re also seeing it in specialists, who’ve carved out niche but loyal communities. B2B influence in its purest form is cutting through to audiences in ways AI slop aficionados simply cannot.

In short, people are now at an absolute premium. Your next brand-led campaign of visual assets is great, but your senior team member’s appearance on an industry podcast might be even better. The weight carried by trusted expert voices now far surpasses comms at a brand level and, in a sweetly ironic turn, these individuals are winning in AI search responses. Recent research from Meltwater and LinkedIn found that 75% of LinkedIn AI citations come from individual profiles vs. company pages. Your awareness strategy now lives in your people and your wider orbit of influence, not in a prompt.

Speed Orbit – find your influence, focus your authority

This is exactly why we developed Speed Orbit – our dedicated offer to supercharge your B2B influencer strategy. Leveraging our award-winning B2B expertise, Speed Orbit is built on the principle of hyperfocal influence: real voices, real knowledge, real impact. Past the endless slop, we find the people who can talk credibly about your business with a passion that turns the dial.

So, when you’re next scrolling through your LinkedIn feed, have a think about the content that really stopped you in your tracks. Who was sharing it? And did it spark a new thought or make you feel something? So much B2B content is seen, but so much of it is rarely felt.

In the words of Freddie Mercury, if he had worked in B2B Marketing in the 2020’s, “Don’t slop me now, we’re having such a good time, we’re having a ball.”

A version of this article was first posted on PRMoment