Exploring LinkedIn's AI: An Overview of Premium AI Features
Nearly every tech company in the world is trying to figure out how to integrate AI (Artificial Intelligence) into their platforms.
LinkedIn is no different. Over the last six months, it has been rolling out AI tools and features into its platform.
And last week, in our community, one of our members asked about what the AI tools were and how they can make use of them.
In this week’s Sell with Social, we’ll dive into the LinkedIn AI features and discuss whether or not they could be useful tools for you.
How LinkedIn Is Integrating AI Functionality
LinkedIn began rolling out its AI features back in November 2023, marking a significant shift towards enhancing user experience through advanced technology.
These features are currently exclusive to premium members, specifically those who are English-speaking. However, it's highly likely that LinkedIn will expand these capabilities to a broader audience in the future, making them accessible to everyone.
The backbone of LinkedIn’s AI functionality is an API integration through Bing, which is ultimately powered by OpenAI. The AI then uses a combination of data from OpenAI and contextual information from the posts and profiles it analyzes to deliver personalized and relevant suggestions.
Overview of Current LinkedIn AI Functionality
LinkedIn's AI-powered premium features offer several tools designed to enhance user experience and optimize professional profiles. Here’s an overview of the key functionalities:
- AI Profile Writing Assistant
Probably the most helpful of the AI features is the AI profile writing assistant.
This tool helps users craft headlines for their profiles using AI-generated content. In my experience, while the suggestions are better than leaving the default headline, they still lack a personal touch and specific relevance.
The AI can also assist in writing the “Summary” section of your profile. Here, the results were notably better. The AI did a good job of summarizing my personal experience and providing a targeted message about what our company does and how we can help people.
Despite this improvement, I still recommend writing your own summary. A personalized and targeted summary is more likely to resonate with your audience and accurately reflect your unique voice.
- Post Writing Assistance
LinkedIn's AI also offers post writing assistance, designed to enhance your initial draft of a text post.
My experience with this tool has been less than ideal. The enhanced posts often result in heavy paragraphs and lack the personal voice that makes content engaging. However, this tool could be beneficial for those who are new to posting and need help creating content from scratch.
- AI-powered Takeaways in the Newsfeed
Another feature you may have seen is the AI-powered takeaways in the newsfeed. This tool provides insights and key takeaways from posts in your newsfeed, similar to related searches on Google.
It aims to help explain the context of the posts and offer additional information. Unfortunately, I found this feature to be somewhat limited in usefulness. Since the content is primarily sourced from OpenAI, it’s not always relevant for specific company information or products. Hopefully, this will improve over time.
Additionally, LinkedIn is rolling out other AI-driven features, such as recruiting tools that summarize ideal candidates and connect them with job opportunities. While I haven't personally used these features, as I’m not in the recruiting field, they represent a significant step towards integrating AI into more aspects of LinkedIn’s offerings.
How to Leverage AI in LinkedIn
While LinkedIn’s initial AI tools are still quite basic and may not offer substantial assistance to those who are already comfortable with writing content, there is potential for significant improvement in the future. These tools represent the early stages of LinkedIn's integration of AI, and we can expect them to become more sophisticated and useful over time.
However, there are still benefits to using AI for your social content on LinkedIn.
For instance, AI can help streamline the content creation process by providing a starting point or enhancing your drafts. This can be particularly useful for those who struggle with writer’s block or need inspiration for their posts. Additionally, AI tools can help generate ideas for new posts, ensuring that you consistently produce engaging content for your audience.
Beyond content creation, AI can also assist in other areas such as generating new headshots or editing existing photos to ensure your profile appears professional and polished. Leveraging AI for these purposes can save you time and resources while maintaining a high standard of quality.
It's important to remember that these AI tools are just the beginning. As technology advances, we can expect LinkedIn to introduce more sophisticated features that will provide even greater value to users.
This week, take advantage of LinkedIn's new AI-powered features to enhance your profile and content strategy (if you are a premium subscriber).
Whether you're new to posting or looking to polish your professional presence, it’s worth at least trying these tools to see how they work. Of course, you can always revert or discard any suggestions they make.
Here is what you can experiment with:
- Updating Your Profile: Use the AI profile writing assistant to refine your headline and summary. Even if you make further edits, it could provide a starting point for a much-needed refresher.
- Creating a Post: Draft a LinkedIn post and use the AI enhancement tool to see how it can improve your content. Did it provide any new ideas? See if you can tweak the post and publish it.
- Engaging with Insights: Pay attention to the AI-powered takeaways in your newsfeed. Try to use these insights to comment thoughtfully on posts and start engaging in conversations.