We’re entering what the web likes to call the Slop Era, an internet so bloated with AI-generated everything that it’s hard to tell if the person behind the post is real or just really good at using ChatGPT. While that might sound dystopian, it’s creating a counter-culture moment that’s particularly potent for femtech founders who understand what women actually want which is something that feels real.
The Promise Hidden in the Chaos
There are several possible futures floating around right now if AI continues to flood the web. Some are dark (like the internet becoming unusable for truth), others ironic (if we trust nothing, fake news loses power), and a few oddly optimistic—like the idea that human-made content might suddenly feel premium again. We’re talking pre-digital nostalgia wave, trust scarcity, and a collective longing for pre-AI realism (think: old YouTube, burned DVDs, and grainy vlogs from 2012).
Authenticity is performative the moment it’s optimized. Founders walk a fine line between building genuine community and manufacturing relatability. What works?
- Invite your users to co-create with you (let them write the FAQs, not just read them).
- Publish user-submitted stories, even when they’re imperfect.
- Don’t over-script. Show the process, not just the polish.
In an age where authenticity gets commodified fast, trust has been communicated that it is built through branding, but it is actually through belonging.
Why This Matters for Women’s Health
Now, overlay that onto what’s happening in women’s health and you start to see the parallel playbook.
Women’s health has always existed in this weird credibility gap which has been historically under-researched, often dismissed by traditional medicine, leading to a DIY culture that predates social media by decades. So when TikTok hormone detectives start diagnosing themselves, it makes sense when you realize how long women have been left to solve their own health problems. They’re filling a void that institutional medicine created.
Right now, women are increasingly making health decisions based not on scientific consensus, but on TikToks, Reddit threads, and “what worked for me” carousel posts. A recent survey found that one in three Gen Z users cited TikTok as their main source of health and wellness advice, and 1 in 11 reported experiencing health issues after following TikTok recommendations . And 82% of young adults globally say their personal doctor influences their health decisions. Yet a significant minority – especially those age 35–54 – say they’re influenced by content creators with no medical credentials (around one-third of that age group) according to an Edelmen study.
Trust in doctors isn’t collapsing. But the health-influence ecosystem has fragmented as authority becomes decentralized. People now seek second opinions as much from relatable creators (on TikTok or Substack) as they do from traditional experts.
The Platform Reality Check
Peer experiences are beating clinical expertise in the algorithmic ring, and every platform is shaping a different health reality:
- TikTok says you’re a hormone detective.
- LinkedIn tells you to trust the biotech founders.
- Instagram aestheticizes wellness rituals.
- Reddit is your raw, unfiltered, and anonymous all things women’s health forums.
Trust in distribution is the problem. Traditional credibility markers (peer review, institutional backing, clinical trials) are losing their persuasive power not because they’re less accurate, but because they’re less accessible and relatable in the spaces where people actually make decisions.
The same woman is navigating all of these worlds while inside an attention economy optimized for emotional pull over empirical proof. And it’s not because women don’t want real answers. This is what happens when no one bothers to meet women in the media environments they actually exist in.
Enter the AI Slop Problem
But AI slop is only going to make this worse and more interesting.
Now that we’re living in a content economy where femtech companies are mostly educating their audiences, attention is sacred, and this is essential to understand. Because if people can’t tell what’s real online, they’ll crave what feels real. We’re already seeing this with the rise of in-person wellness events, real-world rituals, and content that’s lo-fi but emotionally high-res. Peer reviews suddenly matter more than published studies. Voice notes feel more trustworthy than press releases. In the AI slop era, the form of information might matter more than its source. A vulnerable voice note from someone who “gets it” can feel more trustworthy than a perfectly formatted study summary, even if the study is objectively more reliable. We’re moving toward what you might call “emotional peer review,” where lived experience becomes the new gold standard for believability.
The Reformation of Trust
This hunger for the authentically human could actually create space for better science communication. Not dumbed-down science, but science that meets people in their emotional reality. The challenge is figuring out how to package reliable information in formats that survive the trust scarcity economy.
Welcome to the algorithmic second opinion era. We’re not fully in the slop. But we’re not in the old system either. This in-between phase–the algorithmic second opinion era–is murky.
What This Means for Femtech Founders
1. Who’s already playing the emotional peer review game well?
Companies like Guud and Winx Health are leaning hard into narrative-based education. Winx Health built its brand by answering taboo health questions in human language. Guud grew by embedding real-life hormone stories into content loops. These content strategies are distribution strategies aligned with trust behavior. And one that I see that is hot and up and coming just based on this strategy is Testie by @seggstalkradio, an at home STI testing kit.
2. What does this mean for product development?
When TikTok diagnostics beat clinical trials in terms of user trust, femtech companies need to build features that mirror how women are already making decisions. This could look like:
- Integrating community-led symptom tracking.
- Elevating voice notes or “my cycle story” features.
- Creating onboarding flows that feel more like a friend texting you than a medical intake form.
This shift calls for a new investment lens. The most promising consumer health startups will be those that treat trust as a product moat. Not just clinical efficacy but distribution strategies that meet women in their emotional context. We’re moving into an era where science is necessary but not sufficient. Emotional design is now part of due diligence.
Platform-Specific Strategies
- TikTok: Prioritize edutainment. Founders should be face-forward. Founder/user-led TikToks that blend confessionals with credible advice are outperforming faceless animations and polished ads. Think of it as vulnerable authority.
- Instagram: Ritualize the feed. Users come for aesthetic validation. Show the product in use as part of a daily rhythm –e.g., morning teas, skin patches, journaling, hormone logs. Normalize wellness as a lifestyle, not an intervention.
- Reddit: Get raw. This is where you listen, not pitch. Founders can learn more about user sentiment here than from any NPS survey. Anonymous upvotes are the new focus group.
- LinkedIn: Translate emotion into legitimacy. This is the platform to make the case for your product’s “why,” while still showing up as a credible operator. It’s where emotional conviction meets institutional optics.
The winning strategy is to fuse clinical credibility and emotional resonance. Women are now choosing the doctor and the subreddit. Companies that acknowledge that duality will win. It’s not just what you say, it’s how human you sound when you say it.
