“Stop AI Slop” and Other Takeaways from Content Marketing World 2026

Last week, the Markup AI team attended Content Marketing World for the first time, and we had a blast. We spent two very full days in Denver chatting with other content marketers about how their jobs are changing due to AI — and how they’re not. 

What is Content Marketing World?

Every year, content marketers from around the world convene at Content Marketing World to network, learn from one another, and collect impactful ideas. “With 100+ sessions from the sharpest strategists and most inspiring storytellers, Content Marketing World delivers real-world insights, practical takeaways, and creative firepower to help you do your job better — and love it more.”

Markup AI sponsored the event this year, and I’d like to specifically shout out the folks at the Content Marketing Institute and Informa, who made Content Marketing World a success. They put on a fantastic event full of interesting speakers, companies that are changing the industry, and opportunities to connect with other marketers (not to mention the Extra Innings Party at Coors Field).

What we heard from you at Content Marketing World

Over the course of two days, we talked to hundreds of content marketers across industries and from across the world. You shared a wide variety of perspectives, but there are a few things many Content Marketing World attendees seem to have in common. 

Content marketers are busy.

You’re being asked to do a lot with a little. There’s more content out in the world than ever, which means it’s harder than ever to be heard above the noise, but you’re rising to the occasion, distributing content across an ever-growing number of platforms. 

It’s no secret that AI adoption has escalated the expectations placed on content marketers. In many ways, it’s made your jobs easier, helping you learn, compile resources, and generate drafts in record time. 

Marketers in nearly every industry are struggling with AI slop.

We chatted with early adopters and marketers who are just starting to dip their toes into the ocean that is AI, but the story was the same across the board. AI is helpful when it comes to producing more content, but you repeatedly told us that you’re still struggling to filter for quality. 

You’re generating content faster than ever, but it still takes a lot of work to make it sound like your brand. Editing has become a bottleneck. Many of you feel pressure to publish more content, but no one wants to contribute to the mountain of AI slop that’s out there (or deal with the damage it can cause to your brand). 

Across the marketing world, people are realizing that the value in content still comes from sharing a unique point of view, a taste-driven judgement call, or lessons learned from experience. AI is incredibly useful for content marketers, but it’s a means to an end. Now, you’re looking for tools that give you more time to focus on the aspects of your work that only a human can do. 

You absolutely love the em-dash (and so do we!). 

The number of times we heard “I miss the em-dash,” or “AI can have the em-dash over my dead body” is too many to count, and we’re on the same page. 

We know marketers are drowning in swag, so it’s important to our team to bring something you’re actually happy to take home. Hosting an iron-on patch bar was a blast for a couple of reasons, chief among them the fact that you got to choose which design you wanted. The “Em-Dash Forever” patch ran out first, closely followed by “Stop AI Slop.” 

What we covered in our presentation 

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to present alongside Bri Jones, the VP of Marketing at Stitch. We shared how Stitch built a system to turn internal expertise into a core content and pipeline channel — without marketing becoming a bottleneck. 

Bri’s big point at Content Marketing World: your best content probably isn’t coming from marketing. Anything outward-facing that’s made on behalf of your brand counts as content, so the PM’s technical doc, the CSM’s QBR deck, the SE’s demo, and the AE’s proposal all count. Marketing only makes about 5% of it. Stitch decided not to play brand police and instead teaches people about brand stewardship from week one, shows them what good looks like, and hands them templates and tools (including Markup AI) to make staying on brand easy.

We also talked about why “everyone should post” doesn’t automatically work, and why founder-led content lands better. Once people realize they’re already creating content, they see how much expertise they have to share, and that’s where strong personal brands come from. AI makes everyone a creator but not an editor, so the goal isn’t reviewing more, it’s needing less review by making standards usable wherever work gets made.

If you stopped by the Markup AI booth or came to our presentation, thank you! Whether you chatted with us for just a few moments to rave about the patch bar or took the time to have a candid conversation about the role AI plays in your content workflow, we appreciate it and we loved getting to know you. We’re paying attention, and it’s shaping the way we move.