Linkedin will use artificial intelligence to help you get a job

LinkedIn on Wednesday unveiled an artificial intelligence-based chatbot that it bills as a "coach for job seekers" and revealed other generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for premium users.

The launch coincided with LinkedIn announcing that the platform had surpassed 1 billion members. The Microsoft-owned company has been ramping up its focus for months on tools like automated messages for “recruiters,” job descriptions, and AI-powered profile suggestions.

The new AI chatbot, which among other things aims to help users assess whether a job application is worth their time, is powered by OpenAI GPT-4.

Erran Berger, LinkedIn’s vice president of product engineering, says that LinkedIn’s engineering team had to invest a lot of resources into the platform to reduce latency. “We had to build a lot of things on our end to make this experience fast,” Berger said. “When you have these conversational experiences, sometimes it feels like it’s a search — you expect it to be instant. And so we had to build the right platform capabilities to enable that.”

Linkedin is trying to re-accelerate revenue growth after eight consecutive quarters of slowing growth. Two weeks ago, the company announced nearly 700 layoffs, most of them from the engineering department.

Users can launch the new chatbot from a job posting by selecting one of several questions listed, such as “Am I a good candidate for this job?” or “How can I best position myself for this job?” The first choice would trigger an analysis of the user’s LinkedIn profile and experience, offering answers such as: “Your profile indicates that you have extensive experience in marketing and event planning, which is relevant to this role.” The chatbot will also show the user any gaps in experience that could hurt them in the job application process.

The user can then proceed to ask who works at the company, which will trigger the chatbot to send over some employee profiles – perhaps second or third-degree connections – which the user can then contact. The message itself can also be created by the user using generative AI.

In the past, the use of AI in recruitment or job applications has often been criticized for being biased. At Linkedin, they have pledged that their artificial intelligence will follow all established protocols for an equal experience.

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