LinkedIn launches new desktop version with 'chatbots'

With an aim to get more people to visit and stay on its site for a long time, LinkedIn is seeking to redesign its desktop site with a simpler app-like look.

The new design will also accommodate a new messaging experience that appears as a pop-up on the homepage and newer search features.

The new desktop version is expected to roll out in the next few weeks.

Chris Pruett, LinkedIn's director of engineering, has said the update is the biggest since the launch of the network. The motive of the update is to make the desktop version more user-friendly. It has come after almost a year when LinkedIn unveiled a revamped set of mobile apps.

Two of the most notable changes in this new version would be how LinkedIn approaches private messaging and also public messaging, in better words, its feeds. The user will now be able to chat on his homescreen through a pop-up window.

LinkedIn is also introducing its own form of 'chatbots'. The feature will suggest the user people he/she can chat with at companies. The new app intends to reduce clutter by reducing navigation to seven areas: Home, Messaging, Jobs, Notifications, Me, My Network, and Search.

The feed pattern, both organic and sponsored, is also going to change in terms of more suggestions of people to follow and more content from news and influencers curated by LinkedIn itself and its editorial team.

There will also be new search features, focused on a universal search box that lets the user search by people, jobs, companies, groups and schools. LinkedIn is trying to boost its advertising revenues.

The social networking site is also expected to offer few features that were given to the Premium (paid) subscription tier in the new search product.