LinkedIn launches generative AI tool to write ad copy

Following in the footsteps of Meta, LinkedIn has announced a generative AI tool to help automate the writing part of ad campaigns housed on the professional network.

Dubbed AI Copy Suggestions, the feature allows users to generate introductory text and headlines for ads. It uses data from the LinkedIn platform to ensure relevancy while also giving users the option to make changes (if required) and keep the content aligned with their brand language.

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The capability, just starting to roll out, is the latest addition to the Microsoft-owned company’s portfolio of AI-driven features. LinkedIn had already launched AI tools for collaborative articles, job descriptions, and personalized writing suggestions for LinkedIn profiles.

How will AI Copy Suggestions help?

LinkedIn is adding AI to its campaign manager using OpenAI’s GPT models. As the company explains, users of the platform will get a toggle to turn on copy suggestions for the ads they plan to post.

Once the feature is enabled, as soon as the user begins to draft content for their ad, they will see pre-written, relevant options to choose from and post. The feature uses insights from the user’s brand page on LinkedIn, as well as campaign manager settings like objective, targeting criteria and audience, to suggest multiple introductory text options as well as up to five headlines for the ad campaign.

The feature allows users to accept a suggestion as is or to review and edit it as per their marketing strategy and brand language. LinkedIn shares a note in the workflow clearly stating that the posting party is responsible for the content of the ad, even if it’s AI-generated.

Currently, generating content for ads appears to be the leading use case of large language models in the marketing arena. Just last month, Meta announced an AI Sandbox to let advertisers create, through text prompts, variations of basic copy for different audiences. Meanwhile, Salesforce’s new Marketing GPT is helping enterprises draft personalized emails — complete with subject lines and body content — for campaigns.

Reports from The Information and CNBC also suggest Amazon and Google are looking to use generative AI to fast-track advertising, with the latter planning to use its PaLM 2 model to help advertisers generate assets for ads.

Generative AI to save time

Generative AI tools like the one from LinkedIn could enable marketers to eliminate repetitive and time-consuming tasks so they can focus on strategic and high-value processes. In a recent survey of more than 1,000 marketers conducted by Salesforce and YouGov, 71% of respondents said generative AI technologies will eliminate busywork for them and can save an average of five hours per week — or more than a month in a year.

“We know you’re stretched to do more with fewer resources while driving ROI for your company. AI Copy Suggestions can help jumpstart your creativity and reduce the time you spend on your day-to-day tasks so that you can continue to focus on what matters — continuing to produce memorable campaigns and building your brand,” Abhishek Shrivastava, VP of product at LinkedIn, said in a blog post.

Currently, LinkedIn is testing AI Copy Suggestions in English with a small group of customers in North America. It will make the feature available in more languages and geographies and add new functionalities in the coming months.

“We’ve long used it [AI] to help you reach the right audiences with the right messages at the right time, measure conversions with accuracy and train our bidding models,” Shrivastava noted. “It’s also a key aspect of how we aggregate signals, like intent, to help you connect with buyers. But our work doesn’t stop here, and we’re excited to continue investing in this area by rolling out new features in the coming months to help you increase efficiency, jumpstart your creative process and think bigger about your marketing strategies.”