Filipino virtual assistants behind LinkedIn's "thought leadership" content mill
3 hours ago
- #AI content generation
- #LinkedIn engagement
- #offshore virtual assistants
- In 2025, Filipino virtual assistants were revealed to be using AI to create LinkedIn posts and comments for executives to mimic thought leadership, with posts often receiving generic or inauthentic engagement.
- The AI-assisted virtual assistant industry in the Philippines is booming post-pandemic, with low-paid workers earning $4–$7 per hour and the market projected to grow by 182% over a decade.
- Virtual assistants described tasks like daily posting, using tools like ChatGPT to generate content, and collaborating in groups to boost engagement, though this led to mistakes like inappropriate comments.
- LinkedIn stated it is cracking down on low-quality automated content, prioritizing authentic conversations and deploying AI to remove engagement bait.
- Experts criticized the practice as creating alienating, homogenized content that serves as an illusion of engagement, with predictions that AI might eventually replace these jobs, seen as dead-end roles.