The evolving landscape of professional networking is witnessing a trend where individuals are retrospectively updating their LinkedIn profiles with AI-related skills. This adjustment comes amidst a shift in language preferences on the platform, with terms associated with remote work and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) seeing a decline.
A recent working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which examined 29.4 million LinkedIn profiles from the U.S., highlights this phenomenon. The research, conducted by Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom and a team from Stanford and Revelio Labs, reveals that nearly 20% of users have amended job titles or descriptions for positions they no longer hold.
Since the debut of ChatGPT in late 2022, there has been a significant increase in the retroactive addition of terms such as “AI,” “GPT,” “LLM,” and “artificial intelligence” on LinkedIn profiles. Data from Revelio Labs, collected between August 2020 and January 2026, supports this finding.
Conversely, the frequency of adding language related to remote work, such as “remote,” “work from home,” and “WFH,” to past roles has decreased. By late 2025, these terms were added and removed at similar rates, correlating with a trend of companies urging employees back to office settings.
The research also pointed out a notable reduction in the use of DEI-related terms (“diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and “DEI”) at the start of 2025. This shift appears to align with executive orders from President Donald Trump targeting DEI programs in January of that year.
A shifting job-market signal
The adjustments on LinkedIn profiles reflect how professionals are adapting to the evolving job market, which is increasingly influenced by AI innovations. Researchers have termed this practice “time travel,” as it involves revising roles from the past.
This trend is particularly prevalent in industries like technology and information, where 31.6% of workers updated past roles—significantly higher than the overall rate of 19.7%. Other sectors following this pattern include arts, entertainment, and recreation (25%), as well as professional, scientific, and technical services (24.1%). On average, these edits occur over four years after the respective job ended.
The researchers suggest that these edits often occur when individuals are considering job changes, aiming to present their skills in a way that aligns with current employer expectations. “Expertise in artificial intelligence becomes increasingly common to retroactively add to résumés,” they noted.
While this doesn’t necessarily imply that workers are overstating their AI experience, they might be including previously omitted details or rephrasing past work using language that appeals to employers. The study cautions that LinkedIn profiles should not be considered fixed records; a 2026 snapshot could overrepresent AI skill prevalence in 2022 by approximately 30%.
As the researchers put it, “the job is the same, but the way they talk about it has changed.”
