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February Social Media Updates: Why AI is Crushing on LinkedIn Articles & Finding Your Perfect Platform Match

February 13, 2026

The human quest for genuine connection is playing out on social media this month, as users show increasing willingness to migrate among platforms in search of their communities. Brands can no longer rely on a single platform. This is the Boom Scroll, your essential digest of the platform shifts and intelligence that will define your strategy this month, direct from FINN’s global social media team. 

#1 LinkedIn: The new powerhouse for AI search visibility

Traditional SEO is hitting a wall as referral traffic from search engines continues to drop. But there’s a new king of discovery: LinkedIn articles. As AI-powered search engines look for credible, human-verified content, they are increasingly citing LinkedIn as their primary source.

💥 The Boom

  • On average, in the past 3 months LLMs are citing LinkedIn about 4-to-5 times more than before and increasing rapidly.
  • Content that includes transparent authorship, timestamps, and firsthand experience is now being extracted and shown directly in AI-generated answers.
  • AI models prioritize content with logical hierarchies; using semantic H1, H2, and H3 tags in your LinkedIn articles significantly boosts your citation share.

Our take

We are moving toward a zero-click future where being cited by AI is as important as a link click. To win, your subject matter experts must start writing structured articles on LinkedIn, optimized to show your brand and insights as the answer AI provides to potential clients.

#2 TikTok US is here!

After years of legal battles, TikTok has officially finalized a deal to become a majority American-owned entity to comply with U.S. law. However, the shift in ownership and data terms is causing a ripple effect among its core users.

💥 The Boom

  • Parent company ByteDance has established a new U.S. venture, with Oracle as a key investor, moving algorithm control and data oversight to the United States.
  • Some U.S. users are actively seeking alternatives due to privacy concerns surrounding the new ownership structure and updated terms.
  • The new U.S. oversight will also extend to sister apps CapCut and Lemon8.

Our take

The threat of a ban is gone, but the threat of trust has arrived. For brands targeting the U.S., this means diversification is no longer optional. You need to be wherever your audience might migrate. You do not need to leave TikTok but should repurpose your video content for channels where your specific niche is migrating to ensure continued reach and relevance.

#3 Will 2026 be the end for X?

The battle of the microblogs has reached a major milestone. For the first time, Threads has surpassed X (formerly Twitter) in daily active users on mobile platforms — though X would say otherwise.

💥 The Boom

  • Threads now records roughly 141.5 million daily active users on iOS and Android, while X sees ongoing declines in mobile activity.
  • While X still maintains a massive lead in web-based visits (145 million vs Threads’ 8.5 million), the mobile-first nature of social media makes this a significant shift in dominance.
  • X claims to achieve 600 million monthly active users, though the privately owned platform hasn’t shared data to confirm the assertion. Threads shows 400 million monthly active users.

Our take

The town square has officially moved to a new neighborhood on mobile. While some segments are still highly engaged on X, if your real-time engagement strategy is solely focused there, you’re likely missing the most active, mobile-first segment of your audience.  

#4 X adds images to polls

Despite declining numbers, X is still shipping features aimed at increasing engagement velocity. The latest update finally brings a long-requested tool: images in polls.

💥 The Boom

  • Users can now add large images to each poll question, providing much-needed visual context for voters.
  • This feature is being positioned to boost interaction for product launches, this-or-that branding sessions and community feedback.
  • Initial data suggests that polls with images see significantly higher interaction rates than standard text-only polls.

Our take

Use this to your advantage for market research. Instead of just asking which logo or product your audience prefers, you can now show them directly in the feed. 

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Ready to turn these platform shifts into your market advantage?

Whether you need to optimize your B2B authority for AI citations, navigate the new TikTok ownership landscape, or launch a visual poll strategy on X, we’re here to lead the way.

As a leading social media agency, we stay ahead of these trends to ensure your brand’s growth. Discover how our social media services can help your business stay competitive in this new era of AI-driven discovery. 

Curious how we predicted last month’s changes? Read the previous January 2026 Boom Scroll and get the latest paid media industry news through our latest Pulse Media blog.

POSTED BY: Emily Kemp, Justin Buchbinder

Emily Kemp Justin Buchbinder