The Leverage Has Yet to Die

2025-12-17 · Source: The Leverage · Field: Business & Management — Entrepreneurship & Start-ups, Marketing, Branding & Advertising, Project & Product Management · Depth: Intermediate, medium

Summary

The Leverage publication reflects on its first year, highlighting the prevalence of AI-generated "slop" content that attracts large audiences despite lacking original creation. The author, committed to high-quality, human-driven analysis, details the publication's accuracy, with 131 graded claims across 86 essays and 13 Weekend Leverage editions, excluding posts less than 60 days old. Despite a strong accuracy record, initial subscriber growth was challenging, experiencing a six-month decline before a recent resurgence. This turnaround, driven by consistent social media posting, intense personal commitment, and increased reader sharing, led to a 40% growth in gross annualized paid revenue. For its second year, The Leverage plans live events in Boston (May 26th) and NYC (June 3rd) focusing on AI agent automation, a free book on education and AI in late May, and a weekly YouTube video series, aiming to further differentiate through rigorous, unbiased research.

Key takeaway

For entrepreneurs building content-driven businesses, recognize that while AI-generated "slop" may attract initial attention, sustained growth and differentiation stem from uncompromising quality and original research. You should commit to rigorous content creation, leveraging AI only as an assistant, and consistently engage your audience across multiple platforms. Your dedication to accuracy and depth, even if not immediately viral, will cultivate a loyal readership and drive long-term revenue, as demonstrated by The Leverage's 40% paid revenue growth.

Key insights

High-quality, original content struggles against AI-generated "slop" but can achieve sustainable growth through relentless effort and reader engagement.

Principles

• Accuracy doesn't guarantee virality.
• Consistent effort drives incremental gains.
• Quality differentiates in saturated markets.

Method

The author used Claude as a research companion and copy editor, not for wholesale content generation, to maintain depth and quality while ensuring 100% original ideas.

In practice

• Use AI for research and editing, not full content creation.
• Track content accuracy to build credibility.
• Engage audiences through diverse social media channels.

Topics

• AI Content Generation
• Digital Publishing
• Content Strategy
• Audience Engagement
• Business Growth
• Claude AI

Best for: Entrepreneur, Consultant, Director of AI/ML

Related on AIssential

• How to Stand Out When Everyone Uses AI — Over-reliance on AI for content creation leads to "brand debt" in an AI-mediated internet.
• In Defense of AI Slop — AI-generated content, often labeled "slop," is performant and monetized, especially in information-heavy domains.
• How the founder of Morning Brew built a Claude content machine that never runs out of ideas and never sounds like slop | Alex Lieberman — An AI-native content machine leverages structured workflows and personalized AI to scale high-quality content creation.
• The Leverage’s Guide to Blogging Gooder — In the AI era, owning trusted distribution is paramount; independent creators thrive by building authentic, market-aligned audiences.
• AI has expanded the middle and lower parts of the book market much more than the top. — AI lowers content creation costs, increasing output but decreasing average quality, shifting value to trust and curation.
• LinkedIn and X Are Flooded With AI Spam, Browsing Data Suggests — AI-generated content significantly pervades popular social media feeds, especially in longform posts on professional platforms.

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by The Leverage.