X wants you to stay even when you click away
If you are using X on iOS, you might soon notice a change when tapping links. Instead of completely leaving the post behind, the link will open while still keeping the original post visible, along with all the buttons to like, reply, and repost.Head of product Nikita Bier said this new setup is designed to keep people engaged. Normally, when a link opens in full-screen mode, users just move on and never come back to react (I know I often do that) – which obviously hurts engagement numbers.
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.
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
— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) October 19, 2025
Now, instead of the web page taking over your whole screen, the original post will shrink to the bottom so you can still interact with it. It’s a small tweak, but one that fits right into Musk’s bigger goal for X – to make it an “everything app” where you can read, shop, chat, and browse without ever leaving.
Posts with links could finally perform better, or do they?
For a long time, posts with links have performed worse on X (and not only) compared to regular ones. The new design aims to fix that by keeping users inside the app instead of kicking them out to a browser tab. And thus helping the algorithm better understand what content you are into.But speaking of algorithms, just recently, Elon Musk shared plans to improve X’s recommendation system in general. He mentioned that the company is about four to six weeks away from removing traditional engagement signals like likes and replies from the algorithm.
Instead, Grok, X’s built-in AI, will analyze over 100 million posts and videos every day to predict what users will want to see next. How exactly will Grok know? We will see.
AI will soon decide what shows up in your feed
X’s plan to let AI fully control what content surfaces isn’t exactly new, but it’s now becoming more real. By having Grok read and watch everything on the platform, the system can serve up posts it thinks people will enjoy – even from accounts that don’t have a big following.
Still, that level of AI control comes with risks. It might make X more efficient and personalized, but it also raises questions about bias and control, especially since Grok’s past content decisions haven’t always been perfect.
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