LinkedIn updates feed display to drive more post replies and comments

LinkedIn wants to drive more in-app conversations via two updates that will put more focus on comment relevance.

As reported on Threads by creator economy expert Lindsey Gamble, LinkedIn recently announced a comment ranking update that displays post comments based on their relevance to each user.

LinkedIn will use signals like professional interests, connections and engagement activity to surface more personally relevant comments in the feed, which should boost interest in post engagement.

LinkedIn will also surface more timely and relevant discussions in the feed to encourage more in-app discussions.

Comments have become a bigger focus after LinkedIn posted a Q2 performance report earlier this month showing an 18% year-over-year increase in time spent in post comments. That flagged a potential opportunity to drive more engagement in-stream.

LinkedIn also reported that overall content consumption was up 10% year over year, highlighting user interest in more professional discussion and in-stream connection building.

Improving the relevance of its comment display could be another step towards enhancing this, and showing more post comments in the main feed could be another way to invite more participation from members.

That works as long as the artificial intelligence bots and engagement farmers don’t overwhelm comment streams.

The other element to consider here is that LinkedIn is also cracking down on engagement pods and AI spam, especially in comment sections. It’s possible a significant portion of LinkedIn’s reported rise in comment activity could actually come from these tools.

LinkedIn hasn’t provided definitive stats, but according to an analysis conducted by AI detection startup Pangram Labs, based on 57,000 public LinkedIn posts, 30% of all of the comments posted on LinkedIn between April and June this year were entirely AI-generated.

That would definitely account for LinkedIn’s reported rise in comment activity. It has clearly prompted LinkedIn to explore new ways to drive more authentic engagement while also cracking down on inauthentic post replies.