LINKEDIN: The Logic Behind The 2026 Algorithm Pt.3

As LinkedIn’s algorithm converges with AI-mediated discovery, visibility is no longer the primary currency. What matters now is whether an individual’s thinking is stable, attributable, and reliable enough to stand in for them over time. This third piece of four for the New Year explores the implications of that shift, and why professional recognition is quietly replacing reach as the platform’s defining reward.


Part 3: From Posting to Permanence

This is the part that makes people uncomfortable, because it suggests the end of something.

The creator era on LinkedIn is quietly winding down. Not with a backlash, but with indifference. Performance without substance no longer compounds. Visibility without usefulness no longer sticks.

What replaces it isn’t silence. It’s reference.

LinkedIn is preparing for a world where professional insight is increasingly mediated by machines. Internal copilots. AI-driven search. Summaries of “what people who know about this think”. In that world, the platform doesn’t need louder voices. It needs reliable ones.

Which means content must be defensible. Contextually complete. Stable over time. Clearly attributable to someone who appears to know what they’re talking about — and to have known it for a while.

This is why older posts that were written properly are suddenly resurfacing. Not because the algorithm is sentimental, but because time is now a positive signal. Surviving without contradiction is a form of validation.

The great misunderstanding is that this is about reach. It isn’t. Reach is incidental. The real competition now is for recognition – by humans first, machines second, as someone whose thinking can safely stand in for them.

That’s why the LinkedIn algorithm and AI summary standards now look so similar. They are solving the same problem from opposite ends. One curates what professionals see. The other curates what professionals ask.

Both are ruthless about the same thing and that is; useless content does not deserve to persist.

The feed, as we knew it, is effectively dead.

What’s replacing it is slower, quieter, and far more consequential: a professional answer engine assembling itself in public.

Those who understand this will stop chasing attention and start building intellectual permanence.

The rest will keep posting – and wonder why nothing seems to last.

DIGITAL MARKETING: More Creator Content Intel

Authentic creator content is now proving more effective than traditional advertising methods when it comes to audience engagement and building brand trust.

Recent research shows that creator-led campaigns consistently outperform standard digital ads, both in terms of engagement rates and return on investment. For example, 94% of brands now believe creator content delivers better ROI than traditional ads, a significant jump from previous years.

The reason is clear: creators offer *real stories and honest opinions*, which audiences find far more relatable than polished, scripted adverts. This authenticity leads to higher levels of trust, with consumers more likely to value recommendations from creators they follow over direct brand messaging. In fact, creator content has been found to perform better than 77% of traditional ads in delivering new information and 72% in terms of credibility.

Engagement rates are also much higher. Influencer-generated content receives up to eight times more engagement than brand-produced content, and campaigns featuring creators often spark meaningful conversations rather than just impressions. Brands are responding to these results by shifting more of their marketing budgets towards creator partnerships, recognising that authentic content not only captures attention but also drives action and loyalty.

In short, authentic creator content is not just a trend but a proven strategy that now outpaces traditional advertising in effectiveness, building stronger connections and trust with today’s audiences.

If you are interested in applying my digital transformation research, strategies and philosophy to improve your business marketing endeavours please contact me.