LinkedIn tightens AI content reach

LinkedIn began rolling out new systems on May 19 to reduce the reach of low-value AI-generated posts, bot-like comments and engagement-bait content, as the Microsoft-owned platform tries to separate professional expertise from mass-produced feed filler. The company is not removing most of the material outright, according to reporting published Tuesday, but is instead limiting how far flagged posts travel beyond a user’s direct network. (entrepreneur.com) Laura Lorenzetti, LinkedIn’s vice president and executive editor, told Entrepreneur that content creation on the platform is up 14% year over year, a rise she linked to broader AI use in writing and posting workflows. (ppc.land) LinkedIn said its aim is not to punish AI use itself, but to identify content that lacks original insight, expertise or perspective. The content changes are arriving alongside a separate advertising update. LinkedIn this month began rolling out device-type and device operating-system targeting in Campaign Manager, allowing advertisers to choose mobile, desktop or tablet placements for the first time, according to PPC Land. (entrepreneur.com) ### How is LinkedIn deciding what gets less reach? LinkedIn is using what Lorenzetti described as an “AI solving AI” approach to identify generic posts, weak comments and other low-value patterns at scale. Entrepreneur reported that the company is targeting three areas first: generic AI-written posts and comments, automation tools used to create AI content, and attention-bait videos. (entrepreneur.com) TechNewsWorld, citing Engadget’s reporting on the changes, said posts identified as dubious would stop appearing in recommendation surfaces while remaining visible to direct connections and followers. (ppc.land) The same report said LinkedIn planned to explain how it distinguishes between content that adds “perspective, context, or expertise” and material that repeats existing ideas without adding anything new. ### Is LinkedIn targeting AI use itself or just weak posts? Laura Lorenzetti said LinkedIn does not want to penalize members simply for using AI tools. (entrepreneur.com) Entrepreneur reported that the company is trying to separate AI-assisted writing that reflects a user’s own expertise from posts that are generated at volume and offer little original thought. Ethan Yang, head of operations and strategy at AI research company CTGT, told TechNewsWorld that “the real distinction should be between AI-assisted expertise and AI-replaced expertise.” Jonathan Sterling of Foxtown Marketing said detection remains difficult because models keep improving and LinkedIn risks catching legitimate creators who use AI as a drafting aid. (technewsworld.com) ### What changed for advertisers inside Campaign Manager? LinkedIn this month started adding a Devices section under Audience Attributes in Campaign Manager, according to PPC Land. (entrepreneur.com) Screenshots shared by practitioners show three checkboxes — Mobile, Desktop and Tablet — plus device operating-system controls. The publication said the rollout is gradual and may not yet be visible in every account. Alex Beddoe, head of biddable media at Transmission and a LinkedIn Certified Marketing Expert, told PPC Land that the feature is rolling out over the next couple of weeks. (technewsworld.com) Filip Saracevic, a LinkedIn ads practitioner cited by the publication, said the change appeared without a formal announcement when he first noticed it. ### Why does the device control matter now? Before this update, advertisers had no direct setting to separate mobile from desktop delivery, PPC Land reported. Vertical creative formats acted as an indirect mobile filter because they appeared mainly on phones, but there was no equivalent way to isolate desktop delivery or target tablets on their own. (ppc.land) Alex Beddoe told PPC Land that marketers should think about the new control in terms of demand creation and demand capture rather than treating desktop as the automatic default. His comments point to more deliberate placement choices for different creative formats and buyer contexts inside LinkedIn’s ad system. (ppc.land) ### What happens next on the platform? Wednesday’s expected LinkedIn announcement was set to provide more detail on how the company defines weak content patterns and recommendation limits, according to TechNewsWorld’s report. On the advertising side, the device-targeting rollout is still expanding across Campaign Manager accounts over the next couple of weeks, according to Beddoe’s comments to PPC Land. (ppc.land) (technewsworld.com)