The platform, which has embraced AI by offering LinkedIn Premium subscribers access to its own in-house AI writing tools, appears to be seeing significant uptake of these capabilities.
Wired reports that over 54 per cent of longer English-language posts on LinkedIn are now likely AI-generated. AI detection startup Originality AI shared data indicating that users can often get away with this practice because the corporate-speak style of AI writing is difficult to distinguish from genuine human-written content.
Originality AI scanned a sample of 8,795 public LinkedIn posts over 100 words long, published from January 2018 to October 2024. Initially, the use of AI writing tools on LinkedIn was negligible, but a major increase occurred at the beginning of 2023.
According to Originality CEO Jon Gillham, the uptick coincided with the release of ChatGPT, which led to a 189 per cent spike in likely AI-generated posts before the trend levelled off.
LinkedIn has stated that it does not track how many posts on the site are written or edited with AI tools, but claims to have robust defences in place to proactively identify low-quality or duplicate content.
LinkedIn’s head of feed relevance, Adam Walkiewicz said: “We see AI as a tool that can help with the review of a draft or to beat the blank page problem, but the original thoughts and ideas that our members share are what matter.”
There has also emerged a cottage industry of AI LinkedIn comment and post generators to help professionals create content that impresses potential bosses or customers. Instead of spending time crafting the perfect congratulatory message, users can now generate one in seconds with AI.
Despite the convenience, some LinkedIn users have reported relying more on general-purpose large language models for their posts rather than specialised AI tools.
Content writer Adetayo Sogbesan uses Anthropic’s Claude to draft posts for clients in the tech industry. Non-native English speakers told Wired they use AI tools to polish their English writing and fix grammar errors. Journalist and marketer Çiğdem Öztabak, for example, has used AI to rework posts originally written in her first language, Turkish.
However, the use of AI-generated content has not been without its critics.
Entrepreneur Zack Fosdyck mentioned receiving mixed feedback on his use of automated tools. “Some people engaged positively, appreciating the clarity and structure of the posts. Others were skeptical or critical, often focusing on the fact that AI was involved rather than the content itself,” he said.
