LinkedIn has announced the addition of new Smart Replies in their messaging option, providing a faster, easier way to stay in touch, particularly on mobile.
As you can see, the functionality is fairly straightforward – where LinkedIn’s message AI detects inferred meaning in an incoming message, it will provide you with a set of one-tap quick responses you can use to reply.
LinkedIn’s been working to improve their messaging options over the past year, after seeing a significant increase in messaging use on the platform. Late last year, LinkedIn reported that since the launch of their re-vamped mobile app, they’d seen 240% growth in messages sent.
That lead to improvements in their group messaging options, the development of their own messaging bot system – called @inbot – which could, eventually, become your professional personal assistant, and a new ‘Conversation Starters’ suggestion tool to prompt messaging engagement.
The boost in messaging has also been driven by an increase in mobile LinkedIn usage – now, the majority of LinkedIn’s 500 million members (and however many monthly active users) are logging into the site via mobile. That makes tools like Smart Replies particularly handy, as you can quickly respond without having to worry about potential autocorrect errors or having to type longer messages by thumb.
Smart Replies are becoming increasingly common, with Google, most notably, adding similar to their messaging tools, and to Gmail. Google’s options are a little more advanced than LinkedIn’s, with the system ‘learning’ from your use of language in order to formulate replies which are more in-step with your personal tone – in fact, one recent experiment saw someone using Gmail smart replies exclusively for a week, in which he reported that they actually picked up his communicate nuances really well.
LinkedIn’s Smart Replies are not at that level yet, but LinkedIn notes that they are developing similar:
“Coming soon, we’ll be personalizing your smart replies further so that the suggestions are even more fitting for the conversation you’re having. For example, you may soon see a response like “Thanks, Joe!” versus the more simplified “Thanks.”
It’s not at that next level of AI learning, but it does show how LinkedIn is working to improve, and provide new options which align with usage trends.
Smart Replies won’t revolutionize your LinkedIn experience, but they do add that little bit extra, that next step in helping encourage more engagement via LinkedIn DM. And that could have benefits for those looking to generate leads via the platform – many times people will avoid a LinkedIn message because they don’t have time to go back and forth.
Maybe, with an easier way to quickly reply, more people will increase their responsiveness and activity.