LinkedIn recently told TechCrunch that the platform will, “…pass the 1 billion users mark this month…” Along with this momentous announcement the company unveiled AI features that will be only available to premium members.
In the coming months, premium members will be able to use AI to get advice on job postings, to digest long posts, and use an AI writing assistant to enhance their profile and help them draft messages.
Reuters shared an example of how AI will tailor summarizations for members stating, “LinkedIn also introduced…a button that will summarize long posts into a few key bullet points tailored for each user, for example by giving a sales professional a different takeaway than a stock broker.”
These AI features will be powered by OpenAI which is, “…now 49% owned by Microsoft after the tech giant invested tens of billions of dollars in the startup.”
TechCrunch also highlighted that LinkedIn is using, “…OpenAI APIs from Azure, taping OpenAI’s Large Language Models and GPT-4, combining this with LinkedIn’s proprietary data to come up with generative AI outputs that are personalized to the individual.”
Why did LinkedIn build out these tools?
There are a few main reasons for adding these AI tools to the platform. Firstly, this will help the site overcome the challenge of social media engagement. As stated by TechCrunch, “…, the tools are designed to get people to click more and create more, spending more time on the site overall.”
Secondly, to remain relevant today, platforms need an AI component, “Generative AI has proven to be catnip for engagement, but that can open the door to other usage, too. Come for the novelty of the new gen AI tool, maybe stay for the interesting insights and networking opportunities.”
The third and final reason should be obvious, revenue. “LinkedIn made $15 billion in revenues last year and while it doesn’t say what proportion of that comes from paid subscriptions, it’s still a fast-growing part of the business, up 55% year over year as of last month.”
