LinkedIn is adding a new, AI-powered perk for its premium subscribers: a built-in job coach that uses AI and LinkedIn data to help job seekers find, research and apply for roles. The new feature arrives as the company announced its user base has grown to 1 billion members as it looks to ramp up its investment in AI-driven features.
The Microsoft-owned company has increasingly been experimenting with AI features for its paying members. Earlier this year, it introduced the ability to use generative AI to write better profile descriptions and messages to hiring managers. But the latest AI perks aim to provide an even more personalized experience.
For now, the most prominent feature for job seekers will be AI-generated insights alongside each job posting. The tool can help summarize lengthy job descriptions and weigh in on whether the role is a good fit for a user based on the contents of their LinkedIn profile. For example, it can highlight specific work experiences users’ may want to emphasize in their application and provide tips on how to improve their LinkedIn profile to look more attractive to hiring managers.
Because LinkedIn is able to draw on its vast trove of career data, the tips it’s able to provide are much more personalized than what you’d likely get if you were to ask other generative AI services for tips, says LinkedIn product manager Rohan Rajiv. “This is made possible by generative AI, but also the datasets that bring all of this together,” Rajiv tells Engadget. “It’s your profile, your connections, and all of this that essentially can help you move your job search forward.”
For now, it’s still early days for the feature which is launching in beta to a limited set of LinkedIn Premium subscribers. But the company has signaled it intends to make AI a central part of its service going forward. “Today marks the beginning of a new journey, one where the power of AI is your ally in every career question and decision,” LinkedIn’s Chief Product Officer, Tomer Cohen, wrote in a blog post.
