Updated: October 20, 2026. We add every new AI trend to this list.
Short answer: AI meme trends are memes made with AI image and video tools. Instead of filming something, people type a prompt or upload a photo, and the AI turns it into a clip. It started with weird, glitchy videos in 2023. Since tools like Google’s Veo 3 arrived in 2025, AI clips look real enough that the joke is often guessing whether it’s AI at all.
Here’s every big AI meme trend so far, in order, with where it came from and what made it blow up.
2023: Will Smith eating spaghetti
The first AI video everyone saw. In March 2023, a Reddit user posted a clip made with the free tool ModelScope from one prompt: “Will Smith eating spaghetti.” The result was pure nightmare fuel. Melting faces, noodles appearing out of nowhere, a fork that’s also a hand.
It went viral because it was so bad, and then it became a running joke: every time a new AI video tool comes out, people test it with Will Smith eating spaghetti. That’s why it’s now called the “Will Smith Eating Spaghetti test.” In February 2024, Will Smith himself joined in with a parody on Instagram, captioned “This is getting out of hand!” When Google released Veo 3 in May 2025, the spaghetti finally looked real. Mostly. People noticed the noodles sounded weirdly crunchy.
2023: the Pope in a puffer jacket
The same week, in late March 2023, AI pictures of Pope Francis in a huge white puffer jacket were posted on Reddit. They were made with the image tool Midjourney, and a lot of people, including celebrities, thought they were real.
It’s not a meme format like the others, but it’s the moment the internet realized AI pictures could fool almost anyone. The giveaway was a messed-up hand, which back then was AI’s biggest weakness.
2024: AI time travelers stop famous memes
In June 2024, a new tool called Dream Machine from Luma AI made it possible to “extend” any video. People used it on old Vines and memes, and something strange kept happening: a random person would run into the scene and stop the iconic moment. On June 14, 2024, X user @TwashTheMan posted an extended version of the “What’s 9 + 10? 21” Vine. According to Know Your Meme, it passed 29 million views in four days.
TikTok decided the only explanation was a time traveler on a mission to stop every meme from happening. Soon every classic Vine had its own “interruption.”
2025: Italian brainrot
Probably the biggest AI meme so far, at least with younger fans. In January 2025, an AI picture of a shark wearing Nike sneakers appeared on TikTok with an Italian AI voice saying “Tralalero Tralala.” Then came a whole cast of AI creatures with fake Italian names: Bombardiro Crocodilo (a crocodile that’s also a bomber plane), Tung Tung Tung Sahur (a wooden log with a bat), Ballerina Cappuccina and Chimpanzini Bananini.
The characters ended up everywhere: in the Roblox game Steal a Brainrot, on sticker albums and in April 2026 even as Fortnite skins. Its biggest moment was 2025.
Good to know: the original voice-overs of some characters contain swearing and offensive lines, which got a lot of criticism. That’s why there’s no embed here. The cute characters are fine, the original audio isn’t always.
2025: AI vlogs (yes, Bigfoot has a vlog now)
On May 20, 2025, Google released Veo 3, an AI video tool that also creates sound and talking. Within days, TikTok was full of AI “vlogs”: characters filming themselves with a selfie stick like an influencer. Bigfoot vlogging his day in the woods. A Stormtrooper on a trip. Biblical figures with an iPhone.
The joke works because the vlog style is so familiar. Same camera angle, same “hey guys,” just with someone who absolutely should not have a TikTok account.
2025: AI ASMR
In June 2025, people started using AI to make satisfying ASMR videos of things that can’t exist: a knife slicing through glass fruit, gemstones cut like butter, someone eating lava. According to Know Your Meme, one glass-cutting clip passed 5.3 million views in 11 days.
It’s oddly relaxing and a little unsettling, because your brain knows glass shouldn’t sound like that.
2025–2026: food yelling at you
Next, AI gave food a voice, and the food was angry. It started in August 2025 with an onion asking why it was put in the fridge. By December 2025 and January 2026, it was everywhere: strawberries, pasta and rice screaming at you for storing or cooking them wrong.
Half kitchen tip, half horror movie. Some of these videos actually teach you something. Others just yell. Before you trust a “tip” from an angry tomato, check it somewhere else.
2026: the Rumpelstiltskin meme
A tiny bearded man tip-toes around a screaming woman in a barn, set to Riff Raff’s “Tip Toe Wing In My Jawwdinz.” It looks like a lost fantasy movie from the 80s. It’s 100% AI, first posted on Instagram on August 27, 2026, and it took over in early October. The full story: the Rumpelstiltskin meme, explained.
2026: hit the road dude AI remakes
This one started with a real video from 2025: a man in a pickup truck kicking two guys out of a fishing pond (“State? This? State?”). In October 2026, AI tools turned it into a format, and suddenly cats, Minecraft players, Gru and Homelander were all yelling about state property. Read more: the hit the road dude meme.
2026: the La Tormenta de Arena trend
Two photos, one club balcony, one spotlight. The AI recreates a scene from the Spanish movie Three Steps Above Heaven (2010) with whoever you want, from Batman and the Joker to two cats, set to the song “La tormenta de arena” by Dorian. Everything about it: the La Tormenta de Arena trend.
Why AI memes work
Look at the list and you’ll see the same recipe again and again:
- One famous scene, endless casting. The format stays the same, only the characters change. That’s exactly what made memes work 100 years ago, as you can see in our story of the first meme ever.
- The weirdness is the joke. The best AI memes don’t try to look real. A shark in sneakers is funnier than a perfect fake.
- Anyone can make one. A photo and an app are enough, so every trend gets thousands of versions in days.
How to spot AI and post it the right way
AI videos are getting good. A few things that still give them away:
- Hands, teeth and text. Extra fingers, melting teeth and signs with gibberish letters are classic AI mistakes.
- Physics that feel off. Things that bend, merge or disappear. Food that crunches when it shouldn’t.
- No source. If a shocking clip only exists as reposts and nobody knows where it came from, be careful.
And if you make your own:
1. Label it as AI. TikTok and Instagram both have a setting for that. 2. Don’t put real people in it without asking. Not your classmates, not your crush, not your teacher. Pets, characters and friends who said yes are fair game. 3. Don’t make fakes that look like real news. A meme is a joke. A fake that fools people isn’t.
Want a still meme instead of a video? Our free meme maker works in your browser. No watermark, no sign-up.
FAQ
What is an AI meme?
A meme made with an AI image or video tool instead of a camera. Usually you type a prompt or upload a photo, and the app creates the picture or clip.
What was the first viral AI meme?
The AI video of Will Smith eating spaghetti from March 2023 is usually called the first big one. It’s still used to test new AI video tools.
What is the newest AI meme trend?
Right now, it’s the La Tormenta de Arena trend from October 2026. We update this list whenever a new one takes off.
Is Italian brainrot AI?
Yes. The characters like Tralalero Tralala and Tung Tung Tung Sahur are AI-generated images and videos, usually with an AI voice speaking fake Italian.
How can you tell if a video is AI?
Look at hands, teeth, text and physics, and check whether the clip has a real source. When in doubt, assume it might be AI.
Moral of the story: AI can make Bigfoot vlog and food scream. It still can’t make the spaghetti sound right.
Sources: Wikipedia: Will Smith Eating Spaghetti test, Know Your Meme: AI Will Smith Eating Spaghetti, CBS News, Fortune, Know Your Meme: AI Time Travelers, Wikipedia: Italian brainrot, Know Your Meme: AI Vlogs, Know Your Meme: AI ASMR, Know Your Meme: AI Food Yelling At You. Tung Tung Tung Sahur image: original by @noxaasht, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.