# AI slop happens when AI sits in the director's chair Every nonprofit can now make more content than it can read. The teams that sound like themselves keep one job for people: deciding. - Author: [Scott Williams](https://ifpossible.ai/about#scott), Co-Founder, If Possible - Published: 2026-10-31 - Topic: How to Implement AI at Your Nonprofit - URL: https://ifpossible.ai/articles/ai-slop-directors-chair - Video: [What Is AI Slop and How Can Nonprofits Avoid It?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edrPvNf5B-U) (4 min) - Publication: [The Art of the Possible](https://ifpossible.ai/articles/), by If Possible (https://ifpossible.ai) ## Key takeaways - AI slop is content where AI made the decisions: who it's for, what it says, and whether it's good enough to ship. - At If Possible we hold one rule above the rest. The director is always human. - Write down your own thinking before you ask AI for ideas, so its first answer doesn't become your answer. - With AI, a bad draft costs seconds. Throw it out and ask again before you spend an hour fixing it. - If you accept everything AI hands you, you will get slop every time. ## What is AI slop? AI slop is content that sounds fine and says nothing. It happens when a person hands AI the whole job, including the choices only a person can make: who this is for, what it needs to say, and whether it's good enough to go out with your name on it. Donors can feel it. The thank-you letter that could have come from any charity. The appeal with three tidy bullet points and no heartbeat. The social post that reads like a press release. Here's how I put it to Colleen on a recent recording: > AI slop by definition is when AI sits in the director role. > > Scott Williams · Recorded conversation, Oct 22, 2026 ## Why does AI slop happen at nonprofits? Slop happens because the tools got fast and the decision step got skipped. A development director with [forty things on their plate](https://ifpossible.ai/articles/guide-to-saying-no) types "write our year-end appeal," [pastes the first result into the email platform](https://ifpossible.ai/articles/what-is-a-meat-proxy), and moves on. AI didn't fail there. Nobody decided anything. Small teams feel this pressure most. When you are the whole communications department, it's tempting to let the machine choose for you. That is exactly the moment to slow down for two minutes. ## What does "the director is always human" mean? Think about a film set. The crew is huge and talented: camera, lighting, sound, editing. One person decides what the movie is about and which take is the one. AI is now the best crew your nonprofit has ever had. It still can't be the director. > The director is always, always, always human. That is never an AI. > > Scott Williams · Oct 22, 2026 Here is how we split the work with every If Possible customer: | The director (a person) | The crew (AI) | | --- | --- | | Decides who the piece is for | Drafts 3 versions in a minute | | Chooses the one point it has to land | Tries the point in different voices and lengths | | Knows the donor, the program, the story | Formats, trims, translates, checks the reading level | | Says yes or no | Never ships anything on its own | ## Should you ask AI for ideas before you have your own? Usually, no. Write your rough thinking first, even three messy sentences. Then bring AI in. Colleen explained why in the same conversation. If AI goes first, its ideas fill the room before yours are fully formed: > It's gonna poison the well of my own creative thinking and my own strategic thought before it's fully formed. > > Colleen Cook · Oct 22, 2026 Your three messy sentences become the brief. The brief keeps you in the chair. ## Should we revise AI drafts or start over? Start over far more often than feels natural. A rewrite used to cost an afternoon, so we learned to save every draft by fixing it. With AI, a fresh draft costs seconds. The real work moves to judging. I said this to a university foundation marketing leader in October, and I keep coming back to it: > Now it becomes taste. And so now it's about rejection. It's not about revision. > > Scott Williams · Oct 15, 2026 The part teams find freeing came right after: why spend twenty minutes revising a weak draft "when the next one is probably going to be better?" Say no, tell AI why in one line, and ask again. Your "no" plus your reason teaches it more than any edit. ## A five-step director's check for your next AI draft Use this before anything AI touched goes to a donor, a board member or your feed. 1. **Name the audience in one line.** "Lapsed monthly donors who gave in 2024." If you can't, stop here. 2. **Write the one point first.** Your words, before AI sees the task. 3. **Ask for three to five versions,** never one. Choosing is easier than fixing. 4. **Reject out loud.** Tell AI what's wrong in a sentence ("too formal, no story, wrong ask amount") and ask again. 5. **Read it as the recipient.** Would this donor know it came from you? If not, it isn't done. ## What happens if your team accepts everything AI writes? You get slop, every time. I said it plainly to a room full of nonprofit teams during our October Intensive: > If you want AI slop, accept everything AI does. > > Scott Williams · Oct 14, 2026 The fix doesn't need a new tool or a bigger budget. It's a habit: a person decides, every time, before anything ships. If your team is building that habit now, start with [your first 30 days with AI](https://ifpossible.ai/articles/first-30-days-with-ai) and the case for [treating AI like a new hire](https://ifpossible.ai/articles/treat-ai-like-a-new-hire). A [brand voice system](https://ifpossible.ai/articles/first-ai-system-brand-voice) gives the director something to judge every draft against, and it's the reason so many [AI pilots stall](https://ifpossible.ai/articles/why-ai-pilots-stall) without one. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is AI slop? AI slop is generic content made when AI is left to decide what to say, who it's for and whether it's good. It reads smoothly and sounds like everyone else. Donors can feel it: the thank-you letter that could have come from any charity, or the appeal with three tidy bullet points and no heartbeat. ### How do nonprofits avoid AI slop? Keep a person in the director role. Write your own point first, ask AI for several versions, reject the weak ones with a one-line reason, and read the final draft as the donor would. I treat it as a habit that needs no new tool and no bigger budget: a person decides, every time, before anything ships. ### Is it okay to use AI to write donor letters? Yes, as long as a person who knows the donor decides the point, chooses the version and approves it before it goes out. AI drafts; people decide. Before I send anything, I read it as the recipient and ask one question: would this donor know it came from you? If the answer is no, it isn't done. ### How much time does directing AI take? Less than writing from scratch. Most teams spend a few minutes on the brief and a few minutes choosing, and get the rest of the hour back. I start over more often than feels natural. A fresh draft costs seconds, so I'd rather say no, give AI my reason in one line, and ask again than spend twenty minutes revising. ## About the author [Scott Williams](https://ifpossible.ai/about#scott), Co-Founder, If Possible. Scott helps ambitious nonprofit leaders build AI-powered operations, drawing on a decade of fundraising work across 100+ organizations.