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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Guide

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

Media monitoring helps organizations stay informed about what’s being said across online news, print, broadcast, podcasts, and other media channels. Whether you're tracking brand mentions, measuring PR performance, monitoring competitors, or identifying emerging trends, our expert guides, best practices, and industry insights will help you build a smarter media monitoring strategy and make more informed communications decisions.

Discover expert media monitoring guides, best practices, and industry insights to track brand mentions, monitor competitors, and stay ahead of the news.

Media Monitoring: Guides, Best Practices & Industry Insights

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

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

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

AI adoption is no longer the challenge—trusted context is. Most organizations have AI tools, but many still rely on disconnected, stale, or unverified data, limiting the quality and trustworthiness of AI-generated outputs. Meltwater MCP brings trusted, real-time intelligence into AI assistants.

Your Best Context is Already in the Room

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

For subscribers to the world’s top music streaming service, the end of the year means one thing: Learning all about your personal listening habits and music taste via Spotify Wrapped. 

The annual campaign turns data into hyperpersonalized recaps of users’ year in music. And ever since it debuted in 2016, the marketing campaign has been an annual viral hit. In fact, it’s been so successful that it has birthed a marketing trend. Now other apps like Duolingo, Partiful, Strava, and Apple Music give users their own habit-tracking, end-of-year recaps.

This year, the streaming giant introduced a new feature, the Listening Age metric which estimates the user’s “age” based on when their most-listened-to songs and albums were originally released. Tapping into current generational commentary, as in recent discussions about the Gen-Z stare and Millennial cringe, the Listening Age got Spotify listeners talking, typing, screenshotting, and sharing in a big way.

To learn more, we used Explore+, Meltwater’s enterprise-grade media, social, and consumer intelligence solution, to analyze how Spotify Wrapped 2025 used hyperpersonalization to go viral. 

Our Explore+ analysis found that there were about 116,000 mentions of “Listening Age” in the week following Wrapped’s 2025 launch on December 3. Together, those mentions made up about 3% of the overall Wrapped conversation, generating about 5% of overall engagement actions.

Notably, significantly more people mentioned have an older listening age compared to a younger one. The reason for this isn't surprising: Since Listening Ages are based on “the release years of the tracks you listen to most”, there is much more “old” music for listeners to discover, rediscover, and return to. 

While in real life, many people detest being mistaken as older than they are, that wasn’t the case with Spotify’s Listening Age. 81% of posts from users who said the feature aged them up were positive, with many celebrating that their music taste reflects maturity, individuality, or non-mainstream preferences.

So, was the buzz about Spotify Wrapped bigger in 2025 than 2024?

Overall, no. Our analysis found that mentions of Spotify Wrapped were relatively steady from 2024 to 2025. The annual campaign generated about 3.46 million mentions across more than two dozen media and social media sources in the week after it launched in 2024. In 2025, those numbers had decreased slightly to 3.4 million. 

However, though the initial spike in conversation was lower this year, it lasted longer. In 2024, mentions dropped about 60% from the first launch of the Wrapped campaign to the second day. In 2025, that second-day drop was only about 14%. This sustained buzz was likely thanks to the novelty of the Listening Age feature and the many memes it inspired.

There were also some noticeable shifts in where Spotify Wrapped conversations took place. Our analysis found that Wrapped discussion increased significantly on Instagram in 2025. This was likely due to the hyperpersonalized, ultrashareable Listening Age graphics as well as some high-performing brand partnerships. 

For example, two of the top three most engaged pieces of Wrapped content were Instagram collaborations between Spotify and FC Barcelona. The above post, sharing top players’ Wrapped lists, generated over 1.28 million likes in less than a week and about $12.4 million in Estimated Media Value (EMV). 

Learn more about how EMV is determined and how Klear, our influencer marketing solution, calculates it automatically.

Additionally, there was also increased Wrapped visibility on broadcast television in 2025 compared to 2024, thanks in large part to Spotify’s continued live activations. (More on that below.)

Finally, the geographic distribution of Spotify Wrapped buzz also changed. Mentions decreased in parts of Europe and the Americas — specifically Spain, India, the UK, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and the US. Meanwhile, mentions surged by over 80% in both Nigeria and Japan and exploded in Thailand, increasing by 150% year over year. Let’s take a closer look at why Spotify Wrapped mentions grew so much in Thailand this year.

More than half of the top keywords of Spotify Wrapped conversations this year were Thai, compared to only about 10% in 2024. This language shift highlights just how much the campaign has gained traction with listeners in Thailand, and it may all be thanks to live broadcast promotion.

In 2024, Spotify launched Spotify Wrapped Live Thailand, a celebrity-studded, televised program with live performances from top Thai artists. That activation continued this year, with appearances from K-pop stars like Ten Lee, Mark Tuan, and BamBam. The event, complete with its own black carpet and photo ops, turned what is mainly a digital campaign elsewhere into a regionally focused spectacle. Both the celebrities in attendance and the fans watching from home drove online buzz in real time.  

For example, this Instagram post from the event by actress Arachaporn “Goy” Pokinpakorn drove the most engagement from the night, generating nearly 112,000 likes and over $1 million in EMV in less than a week. By turning Wrapped into a can’t-miss, interactive occasion, Spotify Thailand supercharged the campaign’s visibility and impact.

What can marketers learn from Spotify Wrapped?

Spotify Wrapped is a great example of how hyperpersonalized marketing campaigns get audiences talking — a lot. Content like individualized top 10 lists and Listening Ages give people personal signifiers to share, debate, critique, and bond over online. Combining personalized content with interactive, regionally focused, live activations drive that community aspect home, especially when it draws in existing fandoms. In particular, the Listening Age was a great addition of thoughtful personalization, hitting a sweet spot of identity, humor, and social comparison.

Marketers across industries can learn from Spotify’s playbook: Combine data-driven personalization with culturally specific executions tailored to your audiences. Personalized content can spark digital shares, but having multiple touchpoints that tap into identity and community can sustain that momentum.

For brands looking to understand these dynamics and conversation-driving cultural signals in real time, Meltwater Explore+ enables in-depth analysis at scale. Want to dive into what gets your audience talking and sharing? Fill out the form below for a personalized test drive.

Why did Spotify’s Listening Age feature go viral in 2025?

The feature tapped into trending generational conversations—like Gen Z vs. Millennial aesthetics—and gave users a unique, personal metric to share. According to Meltwater Explore+, more than 80% of posts from users who received an “older” Listening Age were positive.

Was Spotify Wrapped bigger in 2025 than in 2024?

According to Meltwater Explore+, overall mentions were slightly lower year over year (3.4M vs. 3.46M), but the conversation lasted longer. Day-two conversation dropped only 14% in 2025 compared to a 60% decline in 2024.

Which platforms had the most Spotify Wrapped discussion in 2025?

According to a Meltwater analysis, Instagram saw a huge gain in Spotify Wrapped mentions in 2025 compared to 2024. This surge was driven by share-friendly Listening Age graphics and top-performing partnerships, including collaborations with FC Barcelona. Wrapped visibility also increased on broadcast TV thanks to Spotify’s live activation in Thailand.

Why did Spotify Wrapped go viral in Thailand in 2025?

Conversation grew more than 150% year over year in Thailand according to Meltwater Explore+. Spotify Wrapped Live Thailand—a televised event with major Thai and K-pop stars—turned the digital campaign into a cultural moment that drove real-time online buzz.

What regions saw the largest changes in Spotify Wrapped conversation volume?

Mentions declined in the U.S., U.K., Spain, India, and parts of Latin America, but surged by more than 80% in Nigeria and Japan, with the most dramatic growth in Thailand at 150% year over year, according to a Meltwater analysis.

Spotify Wrapped shows the power of hyperpersonalized content paired with culturally specific activations. Campaigns that combine individualized insights with community-driven moments generate more sustained conversation and higher shareability.

How Spotify Wrapped 2025 Went Viral: Listening Age Insights and Global Trends

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

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 Meltwater 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

Events thrive on social media exposure. Whether you’re planning a gala, in-store promo, or street marketing event, those attending can help you get in front of thousands of other viewers just by posting about the event. Social walls are what inspire and encourage this form of UGC and we'll discuss some ways you can incorporate them into your strategy.

Read on to learn best practices for using a social wall and see how other brands are getting it right.

Let’s start with the definitely of a social wall. A social wall is a curation of social media posts (largely user-generated) related to a specific event, product, service, or brand. An aggregator automatically collects relevant posts to display in an event space or on a website. They typically update in real-time and are often interactive. Companies usually have the control to moderate this collection so that only the most relevant content appears. 

Social walls usually involve a digital screen that gathers, filters, and displays tagged and shared content relevant to the event.

For example, a new restaurant using a #GrandOpening hashtag might pull all social media posts using this hashtag to display on the social wall. 

People at the event can see the social content other people have uploaded from the event using that hashtag. This not only serves to inspire others to share their own content but also shows them the right hashtag to use.

Within minutes, a person uploading content to a brand’s Instagram or Facebook might see their content appear on the social media wall.

Social media walls are all about blurring the lines between online social media engagement and physical location engagement. Users can take to social media to talk and share about an event in real-time.

Social media walls are an underutilized element of social media marketing. With one tool and a few clicks, social walls can pull user-generated content as well as owned content from your channels to demonstrate popularity and inspire wider engagement. It's also a powerful success indicator for sharing with stakeholders, providing a clear picture of your event’s reach.

As a whole, social media functions like a two-way street. It’s an outlet for brands to share content, news, and updates with an audience. But it’s also beneficial (arguably more-so) when a brand’s audience also shares brand-related content to their social networks.

A social wall pulls users into the moment. Attendees engage with the wall by posting content and will see their posts displayed on the wall shortly after.

With increased engagement for their social walls, brands get a flood of incredibly useful UGC on their social feeds. Companies can embed the wall on their website to amplify the impact of the event. This way, the content isn’t “lost” after the event and continues making a statement to website visitors, prospects, and customers. Make a social wall part of your content calendar so you can maximize every opportunity.

User-generated content has an innate way of sounding more authentic and less like sales jargon. When customers and attendees are doing the talking for you, you reach a wider audience that’s in tune with the conversation.

You’ll find social media walls at live events of all sorts and sizes, from music festivals to in-store openings. While there are no hard-and-fast rules about when to use a social media wall, the general goal is to build a buzz. 

For example, let’s say your next event is a new product launch. A social wall can help to build hype around what the product might be or what new features it will include. Once the product is unveiled, your social wall can display attendees’ first reactions. This is a great way to help your media partners get “sound bites” for articles and press releases on your event.

As part of your event, you can include a hashtag campaign to generate interest in your event on social media. Ask people to use a certain hashtag when they’re posting about the event. That hashtag will be the trigger for users’ content to appear on your social wall.

The above details when a public social wall may be implemented but the term can also apply to internal social listening. Are people complaining about a certain feature or service? Are customers making suggestions on how you can improve? Do you want to keep tabs on a specific hashtag? A social wall monitors all of the above on your behalf so you can collect feedback in a central place.

Considering using a social wall as part of your strategy? You can approach this in different ways.

The best place to start is by exploring social media wall tools and their features and functions. From there, you can see how those tools can enable your social engagement strategy.

The Meltwater platform offers newsfeed functionality for brands to curate and display UGC on TV screens, dashboards, or websites as a part of social media marketing activities. 

Use sponsors to spearhead your social wall strategy by promoting your hashtag campaign. These posts can also provide examples and inspiration for others to follow. This could be an ad for a product or your favorite influencer posting a selfie, for example.

If your event includes guest speakers, post highlights of their talks on your social wall. This allows people who aren’t at the event to take part in the conversation. 

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