LinkedIn leans on AI to do the work of job hunting - BusinessGhana
The zeitgeist in technology today is all about artificial intelligence, so in an effort to drive more users and usage, LinkedIn is catering to the buzz. On Thursday, it took the wraps off a raft of new services powered by AI. The company is betting big on AI and people's appetite to see it threaded through experiences on the platform, and is bringing out yet more tools using AI, specifically generative AI, to get things done on the site. New features include using more natural prompts to look for jobs or suitable candidates, and then providing generative AI tools to help people with their job applications (yes, there's a tool to write the whole application and cover letter for you); AI to surface relevant learning material (to learn more about AI, naturally); and generative AI to search all of LinkedIn to find what you need more quickly.
AI Integration at LinkedIn
There are a few significant things to note about LinkedIn's current focus on AI. First, as we have pointed out before, this is not LinkedIn's first AI rodeo. The company has been threading the tech into its products from its earliest days, and you could argue that there is very little that AI is not touching at the company.
"We've been building with AI since 2007," its head of product, Tomer Cohen, said in an interview with TechCrunch this week. Indeed, the company's connection suggestions, which have often felt very uncanny in what they surface, is one example of where that has played out.
The big change that LinkedIn does not want to miss is the one that has swept the rest of the tech world: The wave of AI-powered tools aimed at helping ordinary people do human-centric tasks.
LinkedIn's Approach to AI Tools
LinkedIn has already been active in that area. It launched a suite of OpenAI-powered tools in October 2023, adding reading and writing tools one month later, as well as tools to help with writing profiles, recruitment ads and company pages.
Second, LinkedIn has different expectations to meet than some of its peers when it comes to the current wave of AI tools. Big social players like Meta or X have found themselves facing different degrees of existential crises over the explosion of interest in generative AI.
LinkedIn is a part of Microsoft, which has a 49% stake in OpenAI and a substantial raft of its own AI efforts. This takes the pressure off LinkedIn itself of innovating or investing in innovators, leaving it to concentrate on how it can build or integrate tools for its own purposes.
Third, there is something a little ironic about LinkedIn adding in so many more AI features in areas where it's being used help users take their hands off the wheel when it comes to creating content on the site.
After many years of people joking about how LinkedIn feels somewhere between creepy and cheesy, it's suddenly found itself as an island of calm for working people from the algorithmic acrobatics of other social platforms.
New Features at LinkedIn
LinkedIn touts the idea of presenting your "authentic" self on the platform. Yet by introducing more ways to use AI to write resumes, update your profile, write letters and other posts, you have to ask just what authentic really means, or how much it's really valued.
Below is a run-down of some of the new features:
Job searches and job applications: We're getting a new way to search for jobs using conversational prompts. It still relies on the data and the job actually existing, of course. Once you have found jobs and want to apply, you can now generate a cover letter or a letter of introduction, and the AI will also give you a further review of your résumé and other work you're doing.
Learning personalisation: LinkedIn continues to be bullish on its video-based learning platform, and it appears to have found a strong current among users who need to skill up in AI. Cohen said that traffic for AI-related courses has increased by 160% over last year.
For Premium subscribers: LinkedIn is piloting "expert advice, powered by AI," tapping into expertise from well-known instructors. LinkedIn says its AI-powered coaches will deliver personalized responses to users.
Search: LinkedIn is leaning heavily on AI to enhance the search experience, with more conversational search options expected in the coming weeks.
Alongside all this, LinkedIn is expanding availability of Recruiter 2024, adding more tools for marketers, and introducing enhanced, premium company pages for small businesses.
