LinkedIn introduces a button labeled 'Seems like AI slop'.

      LinkedIn has designated a term for the vaguely motivational, AI-generated posts cluttering its feed and has introduced a corresponding button for users. The professional network has discreetly added a “Seems like AI slop” option to its post menu, allowing users to identify content they suspect was created by a machine, as reported by 404 Media.

      This button is accessible through the three-dot menu at the top of each post. When clicked, LinkedIn acknowledges the input with a message: “Thanks for letting us know. Your feedback helps improve the feed.” The post is then hidden from view. According to 404 Media, it took only about six seconds of scrolling to identify a post that fit the description, marked by its spacing, use of emojis, bullet-point summaries, and the “X is not Y” wording.

      What stands out is the choice of language. The button does not simply indicate that the content appears AI-generated; rather, it uses the term “slop,” which is internet slang for low-effort machine-generated output, and is now integrated into the interface of a Microsoft-owned platform.

      Reasons for LinkedIn's action

      This initiative follows the platform's crackdown in May on generic AI posts, which dulled such content from recommendations without outright removing it. The new feature implements crowd-sourced detection. Each report assists LinkedIn in training its own models to recognize this type of content.

      Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn’s chief product officer, confirmed this in a post following the report. He stated, “AI slop is a top priority for all of us.” The company is “ramping up a series of new and improved classifiers” to identify this slop and is allowing members to flag posts to help “tune our models and enhance feeds.”

      He added an important clarification: “AI and slop are not the same thing,” Srinivasan explained. Many individuals use AI to refine their ideas, prompting LinkedIn to test a discreet alert in the analytics for users whose writing “may come across as inauthentic.” The platform is also replacing its “enhance your post” feature with a proofreading tool that preserves the user’s voice.

      The scale of the issue

      The statistics underscore the urgency of the situation. Earlier this month, 404 Media noted a detection service called Pangram estimated that 41 percent of long-form LinkedIn posts and 30 percent of shorter ones are likely AI-generated. Searching for “LinkedIn AI” yields numerous guides, some hosted by LinkedIn, teaching users how to automate their postings.

      The irony in this scenario is significant. LinkedIn provides its own AI writing assistant that creates profiles and posts for Premium members. Its parent company, Microsoft, is one of OpenAI’s primary investors. Essentially, the company is simultaneously offering tools for both creating and cleaning up the content.

      A broader battle against slop

      LinkedIn is not the only platform taking action. The preprint server arXiv now prohibits researchers from submitting papers laden with AI content, and other platforms have tightened regulations on mass-produced AI channels. This reflects a digital landscape where bots have begun to outnumber humans in terms of online traffic.

      Whether the report button will have a significant impact remains to be seen. As Srinivasan mentioned, defining slop is challenging, and that definition continues to evolve. However, inviting users to vocalize their concerns is a small acknowledgment that there is an issue with the feed. It also highlights that demonstrating human authorship is becoming a task in itself.