Towards the end of 2025, things on LinkedIn seemed to take a turn. Reach dropped, content that once went viral suddenly flatlined, and salespeople and founders across the platform started asking the same question… is LinkedIn broken?!
Well, in late 2024 and rolling through into 2026, LinkedIn replaced its entire content ranking infrastructure with a single AI system called 360Brew. It’s trained specifically on LinkedIn’s data, so it’s very different from the old algorithm. This means posts that used to go viral likely won’t anymore.
But here’s some good news… if you can pinpoint the changes and understand the new system, you can adjust your content and boost your reach pretty easily. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about 360Brew (with full credit to the researchers at AuthoredUp and TheShieldIndex who did the hard work digging through the data!).
Change 1: The entire algorithm was replaced by a single AI model
Before, LinkedIn’s algorithm used thousands of task-specific ranking models - one for feed ranking, one for job recommendations, one for connection suggestions, etc. Engagement signals like comments, likes, and dwell time were used to distinguish a successful post from a flop.
Now, these models have been replaced by a unified AI system called 360Brew, which is a decoder-only transformer with 150 billion parameters. It’s in the same architectural family as the large language models that power ChatGPT, but it was trained entirely on LinkedIn’s networking data.
360Brew understands context, expertise, and relevance in a way that the previous LinkedIn algorithm couldn’t. This means that your profile now acts as a credibility signal, so 360Brew checks your profile before deciding how to distribute your content. It also means that generic posts and outreach messages that match patterns often seen in spam content are more likely to be flagged or deprioritized by LinkedIn.
Change 2: Saves now drive 5x more reach than likes
Most of us are familiar with optimizing our LinkedIn posts for likes and comments, but that needs to change. The old algorithm used likes as a signal of social proof, whereas 360Brew interprets people bookmarking your post for later as a stronger quality indicator. AuthoredUp’s analysis of over 3 million posts found that when someone saves your post, it drives 5x more reach than a like, and 2x more reach than a comment, which is a pretty big shift!
Delayed engagement is also rewarded much more than it used to be. AuthoredUp found that posts that receive saves and substantive comments 24-72 hours after publishing perform 4-6x better because 360Brew sees late engagement as a sign that your content has lasting value.
One of Botdog’s founders actually experienced this firsthand! In the first 48 hours, his post got a pretty average number of likes and comments. Then, 72 hours after it was published, a bunch of people started saving his post for later, and it amassed almost 100,000 views!
This means that although it might be tempting to delete or edit a post that got very little engagement in the first 60 minutes or 24 hours, it’s important to be patient, because you never know when engagement might pick up over the next few days.
Change 3: Engagement pods are actively being penalized
Under the old algorithm, engagement pods were able to boost reach artificially by manufacturing early engagement. When people in the pod liked or commented on a post, the algorithm assumed that the post was worthy of being shared with a wider audience. 360Brew, on the other hand, has been designed to detect and penalize this kind of behavior.
In November 2025, Gyanda Sachdeva (LinkedIn’s VP of Product) stated that their goal was to make engagement pods "entirely ineffective”. Subsequently, LinkedIn announced that comments posted through third-party scripts or browser plugins would be removed from the 'Most Relevant' section, which is the default view users see on posts, and that repeat offenders may face account restrictions.
360Brew is very good at detecting pod-like activity because it analyzes comment velocity, account relationship patterns, and engagement timing. If the same few accounts consistently engage within minutes of a post going live, the system flags the behavior and limits the post’s reach.
If you’ve never used an engagement pod, this point is still relevant to you, because 360Brew follows the same logic when it analyzes comment quality. So, if your comment section is full of automated or generic “Great post!” or “Totally agree!” comments, it will harm your post’s reach, even if you haven’t orchestrated the engagement.
Change 4: Your profile gets audited before your content is distributed
Unlike the old algorithm, 360Brew doesn’t evaluate your posts in isolation. Instead, it checks your profile to see whether your expertise matches what you’re posting about. If there’s a mismatch (e.g., you post about a topic that’s completely unrelated to your job), your post’s reach will likely be limited.
The profile assessment looks at:
- Your headline and summary (this is really important - make sure they align with the topics you post about).
- Your work history (make sure your expertise is clear).
- Your content consistency (do you talk about random topics or do you post in a focused niche?).
- Your network relevance (are your connections relevant to the topics you post about?).
At Botdog, we repeatedly remind users that their LinkedIn profile is their landing page, but this is now truer than ever. A well-optimized profile doesn't just convert prospects; it helps you perform better across the entire platform.
It’s also important to be patient and consistent. According to AuthoredUp, it takes about 90 days of aligned posting for 360Brew to fully categorize you and start optimizing the distribution of your posts.
Change 5: Reach is down, so targeted outreach is critical
LinkedIn's reach is down significantly. AuthoredUp found that reach dropped 47% year-on-year, video content fell 72%, and even solid text posts took a 34% hit.
TheShieldIndex also published an analysis of average impressions based on the number of followers you have, and the results were shocking! If you’re ever disappointed that a post didn’t get more than 1,000 views, don’t be! This is above average if you have between 5,000 and 10,000 followers!
Even though organic content reach has declined, the value of direct 1:1 connection has increased. When someone accepts your connect request or responds to one of your messages, they’re more likely to see your content in their feed. If you’re connecting with and messaging people within your ICP and you’re posting about topics that align with your expertise, those people will probably find your post valuable, save it for later, or send it to a colleague, and therefore massively boost your reach under 360Brew!
That’s why you should always maximize your weekly LinkedIn connection request limit (check out Botdog if you find it too time-consuming) and predominantly send connection requests to people within your ICP. It’s far better to have fewer, more specific connections than a huge follower or connection count, and if you’re connected to a random person who leaves automated, generic comments on every post you publish, remove them as soon as possible!
What does this all mean for salespeople in 2026?
To put it simply, LinkedIn is getting better at differentiating between genuine activity and manufactured engagement. That's bad news for lazy posters and good news for anyone doing outreach the right way.
Here are our key takeaways from 360Brew:
- Likes and comments aren’t worth chasing. Focus on saves and sends instead.
- If your headline, summary, and recent posts don't all tell the same story, fix that immediately, because it affects how your content gets distributed.
- Don’t bother with engagement pods - the short-term boost isn't worth the long-term penalty.
- Block or remove anyone leaving bot-like or pod-like comments on your posts (or people who like every post within 1 minute of it going live).
- Be selective with connection requests. A smaller, highly relevant network outperforms a large, scattered one for content visibility and outreach response rates.
- Focus on 1:1 outreach because, although organic reach has declined, direct conversation is becoming more valuable. Every accepted connection and every reply compound your visibility with that person over time.
Ready to optimize your LinkedIn strategy for 2026?
Targeted, personalised outreach is still a fantastic sales strategy in 2026, and under 360Brew, it works better than ever. If you don’t have time to send 200 targeted connection requests and DMs a week, don’t panic! Botdog handles the mechanics so you don't have to.
Our automated sequences, human-like sending patterns, and built-in safety limits mean you can focus on writing valuable posts and having the conversations instead of spending hours on manual outreach.
Want to see why 1,000+ sales teams use Botdog to build better pipelines on LinkedIn? Start your free 7-day trial today!
