LinkedIn conversation ads are messages that land in people's LinkedIn inbox with up to five buttons, so the reader picks a path: book a demo, download a guide, see a case study or say not interested. They're priced on a cost per send basis, and in Europe and Switzerland they only reach members who've opted in to seeing ads in their inbox.
Think of them as a short choose-your-own-adventure chat run by your ad account. Done well, they feel like a helpful note from a person. Done badly, they feel like spam with buttons, and LinkedIn's rules are built to stop the second kind.
How conversation ads work
You write an intro message and add call-to-action buttons. Each button either links to a page, opens a Lead Gen Form or shows the next message in the conversation. The person reading sees your sender's name and photo, so it feels personal, and every click sends them down the branch you planned.
A Not Interested button is required and LinkedIn adds it automatically as one of the five buttons in the intro message. You can't remove it, and that's a good thing: it keeps people from reporting you.
Conversation ad specs
| Element | LinkedIn's limit |
|---|---|
| Ad name | Up to 255 characters |
| Subject (optional) | Up to 60 characters; if blank, the first message shows in the inbox preview |
| Intro message | Up to 8,000 characters and 10 emojis |
| Button text | Up to 25 characters |
| Buttons | Five per message, 50 per conversation |
| Banner (optional, desktop only) | Up to 300 x 250 pixels, JPG or PNG, 2 MB maximum |
| Image in message (optional) | 250 x 250 pixels, JPG or PNG, 5 MB maximum |
| Custom footer and terms | Up to 20,000 characters |
| Destination URL | Must start with http:// or https://, up to 2,000 characters |
LinkedIn adds a tooltip once a message goes past 500 characters, because shorter messages tend to get more engagement. Use the space for a clear offer, not an essay.
The personalisation trap
You can use macros such as first name, company name and job title to personalise the subject and messages. Here's the catch from LinkedIn's spec page: if a member has switched off ad personalisation or has no current job listed, the macro fails and falls back to generic words. %FIRSTNAME% becomes "LinkedIn Member", %COMPANYNAME% becomes "your company" and %JOBTITLE% becomes "professional".
So "Hi %FIRSTNAME%, quick question for %COMPANYNAME%" can arrive as "Hi LinkedIn Member, quick question for your company". Write every macro line so it still reads naturally with the fallback in place.
How you're charged
LinkedIn tested a newer version of conversation ads that would only deliver when someone clicked the preview headline. In September 2023 it delayed that release and now tests it only on a limited basis, so pricing has gone back to cost per send. You pay when the message is delivered, whether or not it's opened. That makes your audience choice the biggest lever on results: a tight list of the right job titles beats a broad one every time.
If you ran the newer format before September 2023, you'll still see its headline click and impression data. For anything since, LinkedIn shows zero for those three metrics until the format returns.
Europe and Switzerland: opt-in only
From August 2024 LinkedIn asked members in the EU to choose how they see ads in their inbox, then widened that to the whole EEA and Switzerland. Members pick either native ads in the messaging inbox or a banner ad above the inbox. Only those who chose inbox ads can receive conversation or message ads, and they can change their choice any time in Settings, under Data Privacy and Inbox layout with ads.
Practically, that means smaller reach in Europe than your audience size suggests. Budget and expectations should reflect it, and as LinkedIn notes, you're still responsible for complying with local law.
Conversation ads versus message ads
Message ads are the simpler sibling: one message with one call to action. Conversation ads let you branch. LinkedIn's help centre has a step-by-step for moving an existing message ad set to a conversation ad set, and it's a manual job you do one ad set at a time:
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- Duplicate the message ad set to keep the same audience.
- Change the ad format to Conversation ad, then set placements, budget, bidding and conversion tracking.
- Create the new ads, choosing a sender and building the conversation.
- Launch the new ad set, then pause the old message ad set.
Two warnings from that guide: the objective and ad format can't be changed once you save, and Matched Audiences don't copy across automatically, so reapply them.
Who should be the sender
You pick a sender from people approved on the ad account. A real person with a recognisable role, such as a founder or the head of client services, almost always reads better than a brand page. If your ad account sits in a Business Manager, LinkedIn says an admin with at least account manager access can request sender approval.
For more on the platform's other formats, my overview of LinkedIn advertising explains how objectives and ad types fit together, and if replies turn into leads, my roundup of the best CRMs for LinkedIn helps you keep track of them.
My verdict
Conversation ads work when you have a strong, specific offer for a narrow audience: a free audit for operations directors, a webinar seat for finance leads. Because you pay per send, a loose audience burns budget fast. Keep the intro under 500 characters, plan two or three useful branches, write macros that survive the fallback, and remember that in Europe only opted-in members will ever see it.
A close cousin of this format promotes a post written by a person, which I break down in my guide to LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads.
Frequently asked questions
How are LinkedIn conversation ads priced?
LinkedIn charges conversation ads on a cost per send basis. It tested a click-based version, but delayed that release in September 2023 and pricing reverted to cost per send.
How many buttons can a LinkedIn conversation ad have?
Up to five buttons per message and 50 across the whole conversation. A Not Interested button is required in the intro message and counts as one of the five.
Can I run conversation ads in the EU?
Yes, but only members in the EEA and Switzerland who've opted in to seeing ads in their LinkedIn inbox will receive them.
What happens to personalisation if a member hides their data?
If a member turns off ad personalisation or has no current job, LinkedIn's macros fall back to generic text such as LinkedIn Member for the first name.
