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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

When it comes to brand building, many food and beverage companies face the unique challenges in selling consumable products. Unlike reusable or multi-use products, wrappers get trashed, cups get recycled, and food gets eaten, reducing the amount of time available to create emotional connections and build exposure. That’s one reason some F&B brands start offering something with a bit more staying power: branded merchandise.
Merch is a way for food and beverage brands to nurture loyalty between moments of consumption. And while the concept of F&B swag isn’t new, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s achieved notable virality with each of theirs in 2025. Together, the tale of two merch lines — the Starbucks Bearista Cold Cups and the Trader Joe’s Canvas Tote Bags — can offer lessons for marketers about building excitement around brands. 

So, what can these viral merch moments of 2025 teach us about building brand affinity in the years ahead? We used Explore+ — Meltwater’s enterprise-grade media, social, and consumer intelligence solution — to find out.

Trader Joe’s Tote vs. Starbucks Bearista Cold Cup: How food and beverage merch goes viral

Our analysis of mentions across more than a dozen sources shows that the Trader Joe’s Tote bag and the Starbucks Bear Cup make up two sides of the same viral merch coin.

On one side, the Trader Joe’s Tote entered 2025 with existing buzz after having already gone viral with the release of mini versions of the bag in February 2024. The drop brought a surge of new attention to the US grocery chain’s canvas bags, first introduced in 1977. Media outlets like The New York Times, Business Insider, Vogue and BBC chronicled the tote’s rise to status symbol, particularly outside the US where there are no Trader Joe’s locations. It’s safe to say 2024 was the TJ’s tote’s big year, but interestingly the buzz around it has continued. 

In April 2025, there were about 7.3x more mentions of the bag than in the previous month, thanks to the drop of a limited-edition, pastel collection. Mentions spiked again, though to a lesser magnitude, in October with the release of another limited-edition collection, this time for Halloween. The food retailer’s ability to capitalize on virality — and meet its audience’s established love for limited-edition items — kept it in the wider cultural conversation longer than other affordable viral products, like, say, the Wirkin.

This New York Times Style Instagram post featuring a Trader Joe’s tote bag generated over $200,000 in Estimated Media Value according to Klear, Meltwater’s influencer intelligence solution.

On the flipside, the Starbucks Bearista Cold Cup emerged with a bang when it was released in early November. Mentions surpassed 12,000 by the end of the month as consumers discussed both the cup and the hype surrounding its release. 

Overall, the Trader Joe’s tote bag still had slightly more buzz, generating about 14,100 mentions from January to November 2025, compared to the Bearista’s 13,500. Not bad for a company with a much smaller footprint. (Note: The Bearista cup launched in the US and Canada this year, while Trader Joe’s is only located in the US.) However, in just over three weeks, the bear-shaped cup generated as much conversation as the canvas tote did all year, making it the king of F&B merch for 2025.

In the end, both Starbucks and Trader Joe’s are winning big in terms of visibility thanks to their affordable, collectible, culturally expressive, and coveted merch lines. And for Trader Joe’s in particular, viral merch has been key to propelling the American grocery store to global prominence. Other smaller or local F&B brands take note. 

Though instant virality is something many brands aspire to, it can come with controversy. That risk begs the question of which is better for brand affinity: the slow burn or the flash fire? We used Explore+ to analyze the sentiment of the Trader Joe’s Tote and Starbucks Bearista Cold Cup conversations to learn more. 

Our analysis found that nearly a third of all mentions of the Trader Joe’s bag were positive from January 1 to November 30, 2025. Top keywords included those focused on the bag itself, such as “new colors” and “long strap”. 

The conversation around Starbucks’s viral drinking vessel wasn’t quite as rosy. About a third of mentions of the bear cup were negative from January 1 to November 30, 2025. Top keywords like “chaos,” “fights,” and “crowd rush” highlight how much of the conversation focused on the frenzy around the merch drop. Complaints about limited stock, long lines, and even fights among customers largely overshadowed discussion about the item at the center of it all.

At least in the case of the chic tote vs. the cute cup, the slow burn seems to have resulted in more favorable sentiment for Trader Joe’s, a signal of strong brand affinity. For marketers, the lesson here is that discussion volume is only the tip of the iceberg. Digging into the emotional contours of the conversation via sentiment and keyword analyses can help brands deepen their understanding of consumer preferences and demands.

What marketers can learn from the buzz around viral food and beverage merch

For F&B marketers—and any brand looking to build loyalty—viral merch offers a powerful way to extend brand awareness and emotional connection beyond the product itself. The Trader Joe’s tote demonstrates that the right item meeting the cultural moment at just the right time can spark valuable conversations, even in markets you don’t physically serve. On the other hand, the Starbucks cup was overshadowed by the frenzy around the launch. Stronger social intelligence could have identified those early warning signals and adapted the rollout with preventive mechanisms.

At the end of the day, knowing your audience and anticipating how they might react to a campaign is key. It’s important to tailor a campaign to the audience and actively monitor how it performs so adjustments can be made in real time. When all goes well, fans will drive favorable brand storytelling on social media — leveraging and building on that value in the long term calls for diving deeper into the data for insights that can drive future brand strategies.

FAQ: Viral Food & Beverage Merch and Brand Building

Why is branded merchandise important for food and beverage companies?
Branded merchandise lets F&B companies extend brand awareness and emotional connection beyond moments of consumption. Unlike consumable products, merch like Trader Joe’s Canvas Tote or Starbucks Bearista Cold Cup last longer, offering fans a tangible connection to your brand and boosting loyalty even in markets where your stores aren’t present.

How can F&B merch go viral?
Virality occurs when a product meets the cultural moment and resonates visually and emotionally with fans. Limited-edition drops, collectible designs, and social-shareable items can drive conversations across social media and earned media. For example, the Starbucks Bearista Cold Cup generated massive buzz in just a few weeks, while Trader Joe’s tote leveraged sustained interest over months.

What’s the difference between short-term and long-term virality?
Short-term, “flash fire” virality creates instant attention but can lead to polarized sentiment or operational challenges. Long-term, “slow burn” virality builds consistent positive sentiment, strengthens brand affinity, and allows smaller brands to punch above their weight. Trader Joe’s tote demonstrates the value of measured, repeatable drops, whereas Starbucks’ bear cup shows the excitement—and risks—of explosive launches.

How does merch impact brand affinity across different geographic markets?
Viral merch can extend brand reach globally, even in regions without physical stores. Fans become storytellers, sharing experiences online and generating buzz that transcends geographic limitations. Trader Joe’s tote, for example, saw significant mentions internationally despite the chain’s US-only presence.

How can brands measure the success of viral merch?
Success should be measured beyond volume of mentions. Tools like Meltwater’s Explore+ allow brands to track sentiment, keywords, and conversation context, helping marketers understand how buzz affects brand perception, customer sentiment, and loyalty over time.

Can viral merch be used by smaller or local F&B brands?
Yes. Even brands with limited footprints can leverage merch to spark conversations and build cultural relevance. Strategic drops, attention to design, and social amplification can create outsized impact, as Trader Joe’s demonstrates.

Ready to gain a deeper understanding of what gets your audience buzzing? Fill out the form below to test drive Meltwater's suite of social, media, and consumer intelligence solutions. 

Viral Food & Beverage Merch: Lessons from Trader Joe’s & Starbucks

The internet is a vast and ever-expanding place, making it hard for brands to keep tabs on what people say about them. The solution: brand monitoring tools that do most of the work for you.

Brands need monitoring tools as part of their brand strategies. Think of them as your brand’s personal paparazzi, capturing every important brand metric to help you understand how the public perceives your products or services. If someone mentions you online — for better or worse — you’ll be among the first to know about it if you’re proactive about brand monitoring.

What Are The Best Brand Monitoring Tools For 2026?

What Are The Top Features to Look For in Brand Monitoring Tools?

The Best Brand Monitoring Tools: Next Steps

From tracking customer feedback to finding trends and keeping an eye on competitors, these tools play a crucial role in shaping successful marketing strategies. Here are our top picks for the best brand monitoring tools:

The quintessential brand monitoring tool, Meltwater helps organizations gain a 360-degree view of their brand’s presence. From social media monitoring to blogs, podcasts, and news channels, you can see everywhere your brand lives and use this intel to grow stronger.

Companies trust Meltwater’s media intelligence for real-time data and actionable insights. Meltwater combines brand monitoring with data science to analyze findings and show you what the data means and why it matters. With access to a 15-month archive of social data, brands can see how perceptions and conversations have evolved.

And if your brand does become a target for negative online chatter, brands can spot shifts in sentiments quickly and react accordingly. Meltwater helps companies get ahead so they can lead the conversation, quash misinformation in its tracks, and protect their public images.

Along with brand tracking, Meltwater also serves as a brand tracking software so you can see how your efforts pay off over time.

Social listening, including Chinese social media apps (Chinese social media monitoring)

AI prompts for brand monitoring with Meltwater

Mira Studio is your AI-powered digital teammate within Meltwater, designed with PR and marketing pros in mind. With prompt-driven reporting, simplified data exploration, and real-time answers, Mira Studio helps you cut through the complexity and focus on what will truly move your brand forward.

Here are some suggested brand monitoring AI prompts to use:

Could you summarize recent news articles that discuss [Insert Topic/Brand]?

Design a framework for evaluating the authority and influence of different media sources specific to [Insert Industry]

What was the media reaction to [Insert Business Change] at [Insert Brand]?

What is the media sentiment in [Add Geographical Location] towards [Insert Brand] over [Insert Timeframe]?

Price: Available upon request; free demo available.

Want to learn more about the powerful brand monitoring tools in the Meltwater Suite? Just fill out the form below and an expert will be in touch!

Meltwater has been an invaluable tool for me and my team. Its monitoring capabilities are top-notch, the way it displays data is clear, visually intuitive, and makes it easy to spot trends quickly. I love how I can dive into the analytics and gain actionable insights that directly inform strategy development. The reporting features are equally impressive, allowing me to generate detailed reports that support decision-making and showcase results to stakeholders.

At the beginning, it is quite complicated to create your own searches, especially because of the required operators. However, Meltwater offers support from the start and sets up the searches. Additionally, there are helpful blog posts and AI-based assistance that help in creating searches on your own.

Primarily an SEO tool, Ahrefs can be very telling about your overall brand health. A small slice of the much larger branding picture is the ability to gain backlinks from other websites. Sometimes, these backlinks are the by-products of conscientious efforts on your part. Other times, they happen organically.

Local search optimization to maintain brand consistency in online listings

SERP rank tracking to fuel your SEO strategy

Plans for Ahrefs start at $99/month; some tools are available for free.

Tracking brand online presence against competitors from an SEO and GEO perspective. Using keyword insights and trends to shore up content strategy.

When you receive unsolicited backlinks from third parties, you don’t have control over the anchor text they use or the context in which they link to you. These are important things to know because they can influence how others perceive your brand. 

Ahrefs tracks your entire backlink profile, allowing you to see who is driving traffic to you, the anchor text they use, their domain authority rating, and other details.

And since it’s an SEO tool, you can also track keywords and organic rankings and how these change over time. If you notice a decline in rankings, you can pair this with other brand-related data, such as customer sentiment analysis, to see if the decline indicates a brand image issue or something else.

Tip: Learn how to write SEO-optimized content and how to supercharge your SEO with audience insights.

Ahrefs gives really detailed information about what’s working for your website and your competitors. It’s great for finding good keywords, seeing who is linking to your site, and getting ideas for content. I really like the Site Explorer, which shows you what pages are getting the most traffic and links. The keyword tool is also super helpful for planning what to write about. The dashboard is easy to use and fast. Plus, they have really helpful videos and blog posts to teach you how to use everything.

The biggest challenge is that there's so much data available that it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming to pinpoint exactly what I need. It’s a good problem to have, but a little more customization or simplification in certain areas could help.

People are talking about your brand online, even when they aren’t having those conversations directly with you. With BuzzSumo, you can set up keyword alerts and respond at the right times.

Plans start at $199 per month; free 30-day trial available.

Tracking content popularity as is relates to competitors, industry news, and products or services. 

Keyword alerts are helpful not just with brand monitoring but also when tracking competitors, industry news, and products or services related to your own. You can also receive alerts when new content is posted on websites or by authors you’re tracking.

If you find that content is being posted about your brand, you can go to your personalized dashboard to see the content’s popularity. View how many times it’s been shared on various social media channels. If the content might bring negative publicity, gauging its popularity can show you whether there’s a real threat you need to address.

Tip: Learn more about brand monitoring right here.

BuzzSumo makes it incredibly easy to discover high-performing content across any topic or industry. I love how I can instantly see which articles are getting the most engagement across social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter). The Content Analyzer and Trending Feeds are my favorite features — they save me hours of research and help me plan content that’s more likely to succeed. It also helps identify top influencers and competitors’ best-performing content, which is a huge bonus.

"While BuzzSumo is a powerful tool, some of its best features — like full historical data, backlink analysis, and advanced filters — are only available on higher-tier plans, which can be expensive for small teams or individual users.

YouScan wears many hats: brand monitoring, competitor analysis, market research, and trend detection, to name a few. In terms of brand monitoring, YouScan aims to understand what people are saying online about a brand and pinpoint what exactly makes them happy or dissatisfied.

Brand monitoring tools help companies benchmark and surface insights for continual data-driven growth. Learn more in our free ebook!

The 10 Best Brand Monitoring Tools 2026

In 2025, as we’ve witnessed the rise of generative AI, we’ve also seen a flood of its unfortunate byproduct: a new category of low-quality content commonly referred to as “AI slop.” We first explored consumer attitudes toward AI-generated content at the beginning of this year. Since then, consumers have become increasingly discerning about the aesthetics of content from leading LLMs and generative AI tools. The em-dash has become synonymous with ChatGPT-produced text, while gibberish text is a telltale sign of AI-generated images. Through it all, “AI slop” has emerged as a catch-all term for genAI outputs that leave something to be desired 

For marketers, the discussion around AI slop is an important one, highlighting how consumer preferences change with the rise of new technologies. We used our social listening and analytics solution to dig into the rise of the term, as well as what it reveals about audience preferences.

Learn more about how brands can build trust and prioritize excellence in the genAI age with our new report co-produced with The Webby Awards.

AI slop: What it is and where it came from

“AI slop” refers to low-quality, obviously AI-generated images, videos, and other content. The phrase has become mainstream as genAI content has proliferated across social platforms like Facebook and Pinterest. As the New York Times pointed out in 2024, “AI slop” is akin to “spam,” another term for nuisance digital content. And while AI slop abounds, it doesn’t describe all AI-generated content. Just that which seems to have little aesthetic or informational value or can even potentially be harmful.

Usage of the term “AI slop” increased by 9x in 2025

Our analysis found there were over 461,000 mentions of “AI slop” in 2024 across multiple sources, including X, Reddit, Pinterest, Twitch, forums, reviews, podcasts, blogs, comments, and news. Meanwhile, by November 20, 2025, there were already about 2.4 million mentions, a 9x increase compared to the same time period in 2024. 

According to the data, usage of “AI slop” first gained traction in August 2024, particularly on forums. Mentions then continued to grow in 2025, spiking in late March following the launch of Ghibli AI, ChatGPT’s free tool that generates images in the style of Studio Ghibli movies. At this point, backlash grew significantly, with negative sentiment increasing nearly 20x the average at the time. (More on that later.)

These posts on X presenting handmade work from human artists generated some of the highest engagement actions in the March 2025 discussion about AI slop.

In October, the AI slop discussion skyrocketed with an 87% increase in mentions and a 97% increase in engagement. And as with the March mentions spike, negative sentiment grew concurrently, reaching a high of 54% and reflecting widespread doubt about AI-generated art. 

How do people feel about AI slop? Not great.

“Slop” is inherently a negative term, so it’s no wonder it’s become the go-to label for low-quality output from generative AI tools. Still, there are AI slop champions out there claiming that it is what audiences are demanding. So who’s right?

According to our analysis, audience backlash against AI slop is in full swing and likely to continue into 2026. At the heart of it is the desire for authenticity, originality, and human connection, as highlighted in the March 2025 backlash against Ghibli AI. Studio Ghibli has long been known for meticulous craftsmanship and the dedication of human artists, especially Hayao Miyazaki, one of its co-founders. As a result, ChatGPT’s choice of model for its image tool seemed to confirm skeptics’ greatest fears that AI will capitalize on and then replace artists and human creativity. 

Similar anxieties may have also driven the October 2025 surge in negative sentiment. That month, Pinterest announced new tools allowing users to limit the amount of AI-generated images that appear in their feeds. The update followed months of criticism that the platform was overrun with AI slop in the form of images, blog posts, and fake recipes. Additionally, Taylor Swift came under fire for allegedly using AI-generated images to promote her Life of a Showgirl album. These and other controversies have made AI slop a much-discussed topic as 2025 comes to a close. 

So, what does the AI slop backlash mean for marketers?

Brands that have made craftsmanship and quality a key part of their identities have a huge advantage as public sentiment turns against low-quality, genAI content. Emphasizing qualities like expert design, human curation, and interpersonal connection is helping such brands appeal to discerning, AI-slop averse audiences. For example, in September 2025, after Friend, an AI companion company, saw their New York City subway ads defaced by AI detractors, Heineken got in on the conversation with a billboard cheekily proclaiming, “The best way to make a friend is over a beer.” 

Learn how HEINEKEN uses Meltwater to power its brand management strategies in the age of AI.

Other brands are using their marketing as the main vehicle to emphasize their humanity. For example, on October 9, 2025, apparel brand Aerie announced its commitment to not using AI-generated images. 

The above Instagram post sharing the announcement was its highest performing one that month, achieving a 2.49% engagement rate and generating about $519,000 in Earned Media Value, according to data from our influencer marketing platform.

On the flip side, brands with AI-focused and -related offerings must emphasize how their tools facilitate human creativity, not stamp it out. This is the approach tech brand Squarespace took with the rollout of its Blueprint AI website-building tool. 

Its ad promoting the tool shows a designer creating by hand, using Squarespace only to translate those designs into a digital space. 

Overall, no matter the industry or sector, brands can’t afford to keep their heads in the sand when it comes to consumer discussions around AI. As generative AI tools advance in 2026, brands need to stay tapped into the AI slop discourse to truly understand what their particular audiences do and do not want. And most of all, they need to continue to prioritize genuine, authentic human connection in their communications. The best way to monitor the conversation around AI? Ironically, it’s AI-driven tools like our social listening platform that allow global brands to do so at scale. Learn how with a test drive — fill out the form below for a free demo.

“AI slop” is a term that refers to low-quality, obviously AI-generated images, videos, and other content.

When did the phrase “AI slop” become mainstream?

Online and news mentions of AI slop began growing towards the end of 2024 and continued growing in 2025, according to Meltwater data. By October 2025, AI slop had become a mainstream, highly discussed topic. 

How much did people talk about AI slop in 2024?

Meltwater data shows that there were over 461,000 mentions total of “AI slop” in 2024 across multiple sources, including X, Reddit, Pinterest, Twitch, forums, reviews, podcasts, blogs, comments, and news. 

How much did people talk about AI slop in 2025?

Meltwater data shows that by November 20, 2025, there had already been about 2.4 million mentions of “AI slop” across multiple sources, including X, Reddit, Pinterest, Twitch, forums, reviews, podcasts, blogs, comments, and news. This represents an about 9x increase compared to the same time period in 2024. 

In October 2025, negative sentiment towards AI slop reached a high of 54% according to Meltwater data, reflecting widespread doubt about AI-generated art. 

How can brands respond to the AI slop backlash?

Brands need to emphasize human authenticity in their marketing to address fears that AI eclipses human creativity. For examples, look to 2025 ad campaigns by Heineken, Aerie, Squarespace, and Polaroid.

What the Rise of AI Slop Means for Marketers

If your brand lives online, so does your reputation, and it’s always one post, review, or news cycle away from a PR crisis. That’s why PR monitoring is a necessity. You need to know who’s talking about you and what they’re saying so you can take quick action, for better or worse.

How to Choose the Right PR Monitoring Platform

PR monitoring is the process of tracking and analyzing what is being said about your brand, company, or key people across news outlets, social media, blogs, and other public channels.

PR monitoring helps you measure public perception, spot potential issues early, and evaluate the impact of your PR efforts. It sounds a lot like media monitoring and social listening, but there are a few nuances to note:

PR monitoring focuses specifically on how your brand is being perceived in the public eye, often combining elements of media monitoring and social listening.

Media monitoring tracks mentions of your brand across news outlets, blogs, and press channels. 

Social listening gathers insights from platforms like X, Instagram, and Reddit to understand what people are saying in real time.

PR monitoring brings these together to give a broader view of your brand reputation. 

The key goals are to track sentiment, measure media coverage, and catch early signs of a crisis so you can respond quickly and strategically.

PR monitoring is important because with the non-stop news cycle and algorithm-driven social feeds, brand perception can shift overnight. Brands need a constant finger on their pulse so they can manage their images proactively. PR monitoring can help by protecting brand reputation, tracking media mentions, measuring PR campaign effectiveness, real-time crisis alerts, and competitive benchmarking.

Your reputation is your most valuable asset. PR monitoring is a crucial part of brand reputation management, helping you understand how your brand is viewed by the public, media, and stakeholders. That way, you can reinforce the positives and address the negatives before they spread.

Your brand can show up anywhere – podcasts, blog posts, press releases, news articles, and viral social content. Monitoring lets you see where and how you’re being mentioned, giving you a complete picture of your digital presence.

PR campaign impressions are easy to track, but they’re only part of the story. PR monitoring digs deeper so you can see which campaigns gained traction, how they were received, and what kind of media coverage they actually generated. You can use real data to refine your strategy and prove ROI.

Real-time crisis alerts and damage control

The faster you spot a brewing issue, the faster you can contain it. Monitoring tools flag spikes in negative sentiment, unusual activity, or damaging coverage, giving you a head start on damage control before a story spirals.

What you monitor for yourself, you can monitor for competitors. See how your brand compares to others in your industry on media reach, sentiment, and number of mentions. These side-by-side insights can help you better spot trends, gaps, and opportunities.

TIP: Don't miss our free guide to Mastering Media Relations for Crisis Communications for more information on how to monitor your brand reputation and reach out to journalists that matter when a crisis hits!

PR monitoring tools sweep public data sources (e.g., social media, blogs, press wires, forums), searching for mentions of your brand, products, or competitors. It pulls this data into a platform to give you a centralized view of your media coverage, including PR key performance indicators (KPIs) like:

Share of voice (how much you’re mentioned compared to competitors)

Sentiment (how people felt about your message)

Message pull-through (how often your messaging appears in coverage)

AI tools take that raw PR data and distill it into usable insights. For example, natural language processing helps you understand whether all that chatter is praise, sarcasm, complaints, or something else. Machine learning models surface anomalies, like a sudden jump in a niche forum, so you can act accordingly.

In the past, PR pros had to search for, collect, and compile this data manually. Today, automated tools provide broad, high-speed coverage across multiple channels. There’s some manual setup involved, but then you can collect insights and get real-time alerts automatically.

PR media monitoring is largely driven by technology. Here are some of the top tools that make PR monitoring a faster, more efficient process.

Meltwater’s AI-powered media intelligence suite provides a single source of truth across billions of sources and data points. PR pros can monitor for an unlimited number of keywords, then get real-time insights and alerts wherever those terms show up. 

Content breadth: Meltwater monitors mentions on all major social platforms, print sources, broadcast, and other media such as blogs, review sites, and podcasts

Sentiment analysis: understand the sentiment behind a message surge so you can be better prepared to address it

Real-time alerts: Be alerted to spikes and surges so you can spring into action quickly and mitigate crises early

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