Elon Musk's X tests new link design to boost engagement and hook users in app

X is testing a new approach to managing links on iOS. This change aims to keep the buttons for liking, replying, and reposting visible at all times. Typically, when you click a link on X, the new page fully covers the original post. This design seems to result in fewer users clicking “like” or engaging with the content.

While jumping onto external links, a host of users don’t usually return to X.

Instead of letting the web browser take over the screen, the company is collapsing the original post to the bottom. Elon Musk envisions making everything available on X for the users so nobody would leave the app.

It’s a common complaint that posts with links on X don’t perform well. The post announcing this new feature seems to suggest that the reason is that the interface leads users away from X, thereby lowering engagement.

Elon also stated in a post on X that changes would be made to the recommendation system, potentially leading to increased reach for posts with links.

He claims that the company is four to six weeks away from “removing all heuristics,” which means that likes and replies will have a reduced impact. Instead, he states that “Grok will literally read every post and watch every video (over 100 million per day) to match users with the content they are most likely to find interesting.”

X has been striving to transition to an AI-based approach for understanding the actual content of posts, moving away from a more rules-based algorithm. This shift may result in greater reach for accounts, even those with very few followers.