The Company Joins Other Major Social Platforms in Putting AI as a Key Element of Its Growth Strategy, Including a Partnership with Google
Reddit users will soon experience AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, enhancing their ability to find and explore content. During an earnings call on Tuesday, Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman revealed plans to test AI-powered search result pages that will “summarize and recommend content.” Huffman explained that this initiative aims to help users “dive deeper” into content and discover new Reddit communities.
To implement this feature, Reddit will utilize both first-party and third-party technologies, with plans to start testing later this year. This move aligns with the company’s recent initiatives, as many observers anticipated the development of an AI-driven search tool. In May, Reddit announced a partnership with OpenAI, granting the company access to OpenAI’s large language models to create AI-powered tools for Redditors and moderators. This agreement also allows OpenAI to use Reddit’s data. Earlier this year, Reddit signed a similar deal with Google.
AI was a prominent topic during the call. Huffman highlighted the success of Reddit’s AI-powered language translation feature, noting that France is among its “fastest growing countries.” The company is also expanding the translation feature to include German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
This earnings call was Reddit’s second since going public. In the second quarter, the company reported 342.3 million weekly active users, marking a 57% increase from the previous year. Revenue rose to $281.2 million, surpassing Wall Street’s estimate of $253.8 million.
That success comes amid increased traffic to the site as Google steps up its partnership with Reddit. According to Similarweb, Reddit has seen a 50% increase in traffic from Google since September 2023. As of June 2024, Google accounts for 60% of Reddit’s overall traffic, while only one-third comes directly from reddit.com. This surge in traffic is attributed to users adding “reddit” to their search queries in order to bypass ad-heavy articles and find straightforward answers. This method often leads users directly to specific subreddits rather than the main site.
Another factor contributing to this traffic boost is Google’s recent move to prioritize Reddit and other forums in search results. In February 2024, Google announced an “expanded partnership” with Reddit, highlighting “content-forward displays of Reddit information.” Google acknowledged Reddit’s “unique role on the open internet” and its “incredible breadth of authentic, human conversations and experiences.”
Following this partnership, Reddit posts began appearing more prominently in search results, sometimes outranking original sources. Reddit has also restricted other search engines from crawling its site, favoring partners like Google. This interconnectedness between Reddit and Google is unlikely to change soon.
Although Google Search does not encompass the entire internet, Reddit’s influence is significant, especially in the context of AI. AI chatbots rely on vast amounts of conversational data to mimic human interaction. While companies like Meta and Grok have their own data sources, OpenAI and Google leverage Reddit’s extensive conversational records.
Reports indicate that Google paid $60 million to train its Gemini models using Reddit data. This connection became evident when Google introduced AI Overviews that occasionally quoted Reddit posts. OpenAI has also secured a deal with Reddit, reinforcing its importance to leading chatbots. OpenAI is developing its own search engine, likely using Reddit as a key resource.
As a third-party repository of human conversations, Reddit plays a crucial role in AI language models. Google’s support for Reddit in search results may have ulterior motives related to training its AI models. Although Google’s primary business remains its search engine, elevating user-driven forums like Reddit can provide trusted information sources.
While Google’s algorithm changes are presented as benefiting users and websites, it is clear that its AI model benefits from increased traffic to Reddit. The more traffic directed to Reddit, the more data Google can access to train its Gemini models.
