Large scale retrieval for the LinkedIn feed using causal language models

Abstract

In large-scale recommendation systems like LinkedIn's, the retrieval stage is critical for narrowing billions of potential candidates to a manageable subset for ranking. LinkedIn's feed now serves suggested content based on the topical interests of members, where 2000 candidates are retrieved from several million candidates with a latency budget of a few milliseconds and inbound QPS of several thousand per second. This paper presents a novel retrieval approach that fine tunes a large causal language model (Meta's LLaMA 3) as a dual encoder to generate high quality embeddings for both users (members) and content (items), using only textual input. We describe the end to end pipeline, including prompt design for embedding generation, techniques for fine tuning at LinkedIn scale, and infrastructure for low latency, cost effective online serving. We share our findings on how quantizing numerical features in the prompt enables the information getting encoded in the embedding facilitating greater alignment between the retrieval and ranking layer. The system was evaluated using offline metrics and an online A/B test, which showed substantial improvements in member engagement. We observed significant gains among newer members, who often lack strong network connections, indicating that high-quality suggested content aids retention. This work demonstrates how generative language models can be effectively adapted for real time, high throughput retrieval in industrial applications.