X Tweaks Link Handling and Algorithms to Keep Users Inside the App

X, formerly known as Twitter, is experimenting with a major design change aimed at keeping users within its platform instead of losing them to external sites. The social network, under Elon Musk’s leadership, is testing a new way of displaying links on iOS that ensures engagement tools — like, reply, and repost buttons — remain visible even after a user taps a link.

Currently, when users click a link in a post, the link opens in a full-screen web view, effectively covering the original tweet. This design often causes users to drift away from the app, with many failing to return and interact with the original post. By collapsing the original post to the bottom of the screen instead of handing over the entire space to the browser, X hopes to keep users engaged within its ecosystem.

The change reflects a broader strategy that aligns with Musk’s long-term goal of transforming X into an “everything app.” The idea is to create a platform where users can consume content, make payments, communicate, and interact — all without ever leaving the app.

Engagement with posts containing external links has long been a pain point for users and creators alike. Many have observed that such posts typically underperform compared to text or image-only content. The company’s new interface design attempts to tackle this by reducing the friction caused when users navigate away from X.

In addition to this interface experiment, Elon Musk revealed that X is also overhauling its recommendation system. In a recent post, he said the company plans to eliminate “all heuristics” — the rules that currently determine what posts users see based on likes, replies, and other engagement metrics.

Instead, X will rely more heavily on Grok, the company’s in-house AI model. “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,” Musk said. This AI-based approach aims to understand content contextually, prioritising meaning over traditional engagement signals.

The move toward content understanding powered by AI has been a consistent direction for X since Musk’s acquisition. By training Grok to analyse both text and video content deeply, X hopes to serve users a more personalized feed that reflects genuine interests, not just viral popularity.

These shifts could benefit smaller accounts as well. If Grok’s AI genuinely prioritizes relevance and quality, creators with limited followings might find their reach expanding beyond traditional engagement-driven limits.

While the rollout of these changes is still in testing stages, Musk indicated that the full transition to the AI-powered recommendation model is just “four to six weeks away.” If successful, X could redefine how social platforms balance external sharing with user retention — blurring the line between open web access and a closed, self-sustaining ecosystem.