Users of several trendy AI tools will now be able to demonstrate their proficiency with the software directly in their LinkedIn profile.
On January 28, the company announced partnerships with three vibe coding platforms—Lovable, Relay.app, and Replit—that will allow qualified users to link their accounts on those apps to their accounts on LinkedIn, adding certificates based on their proficiency with the tools. The level of certification can increase over time as people continue to use a tool and demonstrate their sophistication with it, says Pat Whelan, head of career products at LinkedIn.
While the details of the certification process are up to the individual partner companies, Whelan says the new certificates will serve as a signal to hiring managers—and LinkedIn’s own hiring assistant AI tools—that people actually have demonstrated sought-after skills harnessing AI.
“That signals to hirers that this person actually has that skill and actually put the time in—they’re using that product,” he says. “And it becomes a way for you to sort of stand out as a job seeker and be seen in this crowded and challenging job market.”
Unlike test-based certifications, those looking to add the new certificates to their profiles won’t simply be able to cram and pass an exam. In at least some cases, proficiency will be assessed by product-makers’ own AI systems, but it will require actual usage of the underlying tool.
“The partner determines the level of capability in using that tool, and we ingest that signal,” Whelan says. “That way, the person who knows the tool well can determine exactly how to measure that and how to rank it.”
Experience with a particular tool doesn’t have to be at a job seeker’s day job: Usage for “side projects” and “side hustles” is just as valid, Whelan says.
Certificates will also be available from more partners including Gamma, GitHub, and Zapier in the coming months, and additional companies can sign up to potentially participate in the program. Software makers aren’t charged to participate, according to LinkedIn.
The new certificates come as LinkedIn has increasingly come to emphasize career-relevant skills, as well as formal education and job experience, in helping people promote themselves and in helping to match job seekers to positions. AI features within LinkedIn itself have evolved to help people search for positions based on descriptions rather than exact keywords and to help users understand whether their profiles clearly demonstrate they match what the hirers behind particular roles are looking for in a candidate.
And as generative AI software has rapidly evolved, many have learned to use such tools on the job or on their own time, meaning they don’t have college coursework or other traditional training certificates showing they’re proficient in the use of AI. The new certificate system doesn’t cover every popular AI tool—at least not yet—but does provide a new way for users of some major AI products to showcase their verified experience with the software.
“We think there’s a lot of opportunities to create new signals where members can show they genuinely have skills in these emerging areas,” Whelan says.
