Talking about enabling technology these days without also mentioning artificial intelligence (AI) might send you straight to the mental hospital, so it was no surprise when professional networking platform LinkedIn announced a series of new AI-powered services last night.
There is also a more compulsive reason for the platform to go down the AI path: it is owned by Microsoft, which also owns 49% of OpenAI, the pioneer of modern AI in the form of generative AI (Gen AI) chatbots.In this context, LinkedIn has introduced a set of tools to help with job searches and finding the right study materials.
Of course, the caveat here is that these new services are still in their infancy, and it will be some time before we can provide a clear view on how useful they will be, or whether the use cases built around the foundational model are merely hype about artificial intelligence smarts.
Helping users apply for jobs is key
Now, as for the features that LinkedIn has introduced, it seems to be mainly focused on helping users write smarter job applications and more impressive cover letters that will make their resumes and profiles stand out. Old timers will remember the days when LinkedIn would step in and help craft resumes and job applications with the help of actual humans.
Before we dig into the details of the new service, it's important to understand the larger purpose of this rollout: the company has partnered with AI before by incorporating the technology into its products, and is already a master when it comes to connecting the dots to make users' lives easier and help them navigate the platform faster.
Long-time users will recall the quality of suggestions, both networking and content, that LinkedIn offered, and many recall that these suggestions seemed eerily accurate, as if there was an element of divine intervention, where potential connections would spring up when you needed them most.
LinkedIn was smart. What is the new AI driver?
If artificial intelligence is already their thing, what is the company trying to do now by releasing a series of new products? Simply put, LinkedIn doesn't want to miss out on the market of AI-driven tools that aim to perform human-centric tasks and achieve results faster. This is also why the company released its OpenAI-powered toolkit last October.
Another reason is that the company has low user expectations when it comes to AI games compared to peers such as Meta, which is facing an existential threat due to the explosion of Gen AI. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a big issue for these players, whereas platforms like LinkedIn have little competitive challenge.
A quick look at some of the new features
Now, on to the new features, the first is about improved job search and application. Users can now search and apply using conversational prompts, but the backend still relies on job listings. This is a clever feature, but I'm not sure it will give good results for very specific searches. Not because the AI is ineffective, but because such job listings don't exist. Maybe LinkedIn wants to increase job listings this way.
The next feature will come into play when you actually find a job: AI will help users write references and cover letters, review resumes and other work to make sure everything is perfect. Again, I'd be happy to see how this system works before I give it a thumbs up.
LinkedIn has been big on video learning for a while now, and recent trends in user engagement have led the company to drive traffic to AI skilling. The modules include some technical skills and some non-technical skills, and the report says traffic to these has grown by 160% in less than 12 months.
Another new feature for premium members is “AI-powered expert advice,” which brings the expertise of top instructors like Alicia Lecce and Lisa Gates to the platform. These AI-powered coaches will provide personalized answers for users. Moreover, they will appear as helpful personalized coaches while users are watching video courses.
And finally, LinkedIn is leveraging AI for its long-criticized search feature. The company said it will provide more details about the search experience in the coming weeks. Perhaps we'll see more conversational search as a quicker, easier alternative to the current experience.
From the looks of it, LinkedIn seems to be moving in the right direction by leveraging AI-driven innovation for use cases that are immediately useful to users, rather than just temporary.
