Reddit ramps-up fight against AI content amid OpenAI, Google partnerships
What's the story
Reddit is taking a hard stance against artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content, as part of a larger effort to preserve the authenticity of its platform. The company's CEO, Steve Huffman, told Financial Times that Reddit is in an "arms race" to keep only human-generated posts on its forums. This comes as tech giants like OpenAI and Google are signing multimillion-dollar licensing deals with Reddit for training their AI models.
Market significance
'Distinctly human' versus AI-generated
Huffman emphasized that Reddit's 20-year archive of community conversation is becoming increasingly valuable to the generative AI ecosystem. He said, "Where the rest of the internet seems to be written or summarized by AI, Reddit is distinctly human." This highlights how user-generated content curated by community voting sets Reddit apart from other platforms.
Legal measures
Reddit is suing AI companies
Reddit is also taking legal action to protect its content. The company has sued AI start-up Anthropic for allegedly scraping its site over 100,000 times. Huffman warned companies trying to exploit Reddit for AI visibility that they are in a long-standing battle against this practice. At the same time, Reddit is looking into advanced human verification tools like biometric systems, like World ID, from Sam Altman's World project.
Brand migration
Brands are migrating to Reddit
The growing importance of Reddit has led to a "massive migration" of brands to the platform, hoping their content will appear in AI-generated answers. During this month's Cannes advertising festival, agencies confirmed that brands are increasingly creating accounts and engaging with communities on Reddit. However, Huffman warns against spamming the site with artificial posts as Reddit intends to implement stricter measures and remain a platform for genuine user conversation.
Tech integration
Reddit is also using AI to its advantage
Reddit is also using AI to its advantage. The company recently launched AI-powered tools for advertisers, offering real-time insights into trending discussions and systems that showcase user content under ads. It is also improving its AI search and translation features to reach new global audiences. However, the emergence of Google's AI Overviews could potentially reduce direct search traffic to Reddit, presenting another challenge for the platform's future growth.