Don’t Serve AI Slop: How to Keep Your Firm’s Work Polished in the Age of Automation

Not all AI is created equal. Let’s keep the slop out of our strategies.

Generative AI is transforming the way professional service firms — law, consulting, accounting, advisory — create, analyze, and deliver work. It’s exciting, powerful, and fast. But like any tool, it comes with a responsibility: using it thoughtfully.

If we’re not intentional, AI can produce what is referred to as “AI slop.” Not because AI is bad, but because we haven’t given it enough context, review, or polish. The good news? By being aware of how this happens, we can avoid it — and make sure our work stays as sharp and credible as ever.

What Is “AI Slop”?

Think of AI slop as the messy, half-baked output that shows up when we don’t fully guide or refine what the technology gives us.

It might look like:

• Marketing copy that sounds too generic.

• Drafts sprinkled with errors or unsupported claims.

• Proposals written in multiple tones of voice.

• Insights that don’t quite hold up on closer review.

  
  

On its own, none of this is harmful — it’s just a reminder that AI is a starting point, not the finish line.

How Does It Happen?

AI slop usually appears when:

1. Prompts are vague – the model doesn’t have enough direction to produce a strong draft.

2. AI output isn’t fact-checked – mistakes can sneak in if no one double-checks.

3. Drafts are copied and pasted too quickly – skipping the editing and polishing phase.

4. Guidelines aren’t clear – teams don’t have agreed standards for when and how to use AI.

5. Speed takes priority over quality – the temptation to be fast outweighs the need to be precise.

None of these are failures. They’re simply growth pains as we learn how to integrate AI into professional work.

How to Keep Your Work Polished

Here’s how marketers can harness the best of AI while keeping our standards high:

• Set clear guidelines. Define how AI should be used (brainstorming, synthesis, drafting) and where human oversight must remain essential.

• Invest in prompting skills. The clearer the input, the better the output.

• Always add the human touch. Think of AI as a junior colleague who’s fast and creative, but still needs review.

• Fact-check thoroughly. Confirm accuracy before sharing with clients or the public.

• Polish for tone and consistency. Align everything with your firm’s voice and style.

• Focus on value, not just speed. Celebrate when AI helps create better results, not just faster ones.

  
  

Why This Matters

The reputation of professional service firms rests on credibility, expertise, and trust. AI can strengthen all of these — if it’s used wisely. By being aware of where “AI slop” comes from, we can avoid it and instead use AI as a partner that enhances our work.

The firms that succeed won’t be the ones that churn out the most AI-assisted content. They’ll be the ones that deliver thoughtful, polished, and client-ready results powered by the right balance of human + machine intelligence.

So let’s embrace AI fully — and keep the slop out of the recipe.

👉 Have you seen examples of AI output that made you smile, cringe, or learn? Share in the comments — the more we compare notes, the smarter we all get.