The takeaway: X is trying out a new model that could boost visibility for users who have smaller followings but post content that Grok identifies as relevant or appealing to specific audiences. The shift toward AI-driven content ranking marks a significant change from traditional social media curation, which has long depended on engagement metrics as proxy signals for quality.
Social media platform X is testing a change to how it displays links on iOS, aiming to keep users engaged without leaving the app. Currently in limited testing, the update keeps the like, reply, and repost options visible even when users open external webpages within X.
Under the current model, clicking a link typically opens the destination webpage in full view, pushing the original post off-screen. The product team says this often discourages users from returning to engage with the post, reducing likes and replies. The test changes this flow by collapsing the original post into a smaller view anchored at the bottom of the page, allowing users to interact with it while browsing the linked site.
We're testing a new link experience, starting on iOS – to make it easier for your followers to engage with your post while browsing links.
– Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) October 19, 2025
For creators, a common complaint is that posts with links tend to get lower reach. This is because the web browser covers the post and... pic.twitter.com/oWraLpPwji
Head of Product Nikita Bier announced the change Sunday evening, describing it as an effort to help creators and publishers whose posts lose visibility when they include links. Bier explained that users often neglect to interact with posts once the in-app browser covers them, depriving X's algorithms of engagement signals. He added that the platform aims to improve how it measures post quality without penalizing content that directs readers elsewhere.
The adjustment also aligns with Elon Musk's broader ambition to transform X into an "everything app" – a unified platform where users can read, watch, shop, and transact without leaving the interface. By containing links within the app, X takes another step toward reducing external traffic and keeping users engaged within its own ecosystem.
Musk also hinted at upcoming changes to X's recommendation algorithm alongside the interface update. He said the company is four to six weeks away from removing "all heuristics" – the rule-based signals, such as likes and replies, that currently determine which content appears in users' feeds.
The 𝕏 recommendation system is evolving very rapidly. We are aiming for deletion of all heuristics within 4 to 6 weeks.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2025
Grok will literally read every post and watch every video (100M+ per day) to match users with content they're most likely to find interesting.
This should... https://t.co/HdKKgabRUN
Instead, X will rely more heavily on Grok to analyze and categorize posts and videos at scale. According to Musk, the system processes every post and video – over 100 million daily – to match users with the content they are most likely to enjoy.
X's handling of links has drawn criticism from journalists and publishers over the years. Engagement on link-heavy posts has lagged behind text- or image-based posts, and several major outlets – including NPR, The Guardian, and France's Le Monde – have left the platform recently.
Some attributed the decline in referral traffic to throttling and design choices that limit how often posts containing news links appear in timelines. Bier disputed claims that X intentionally "deboosts" such content, asserting that lower engagement results from user behavior rather than platform bias.
