Snapchat is changing what shows up in your Spotlight feed. The company says it will stop recommending videos that are entirely made by AI. It wants real, human-made content front and center instead.
If you scroll Spotlight, Snapchat’s public feed for short videos, this affects you directly. You’ll start seeing less of the repetitive, artificial-looking clips people call “AI slop.” Snapchat wants the feed to feel like it’s actually made by people again.
What’s Changing, and What Isn’t
Snapchat’s recommendation system will now favor authentic, human-made content. That’s true even when a video is fully generated by AI outside the app and the creator discloses it. Snapchat isn’t banning AI use altogether though. Videos that are simply edited with Snapchat’s own AI tools can still show up in Spotlight. Those will keep their AI watermark.
Snapchat isn’t acting alone here. LinkedIn recently added a way for users to flag posts as “AI slop.” Substack rolled out a tool to help readers spot AI-written text. YouTube changed its rules so repetitive, AI-made videos can’t earn ad money anymore. It’s part of a pattern that’s picked up speed this year. It echoes what happened when Meta launched its own AI video feed and got hit with the same “AI slop” complaints.
Snapchat also says the human side of Spotlight is growing. Unique contributors to the feed are up more than 120% over the past year, the company reports. Snapchat points to that growth as proof its approach is working.
Honestly, this won’t change much for people who just scroll and watch. Things look different if you post videos on Spotlight, or if your feed has been filling up with strange, repetitive AI clips lately. That should ease up. And if other apps follow Snapchat’s lead, your feeds across the board might start feeling more human again.
