How Reddit plans to become your 'go-to search engine'
What's the story
Reddit is all set to double down on its search capabilities, as revealed by CEO Steve Huffman during the firm's latest earnings call. He said that making Reddit a "go-to search engine" is one of their top priorities. The company has been working on integrating its AI-powered search feature, Reddit Answers, into the main search function, a move that aligns with Huffman's vision for the platform.
Traffic trends
Search traffic from Google varies week to week
Despite having a multi-million dollar data licensing deal with Google, Huffman admitted that Reddit's search traffic from the tech giant "varies week to week." He acknowledged that it was a "headwind" in the last quarter. This comes amid growing concerns of AI eating into search traffic for websites. To combat this, Reddit is focusing on improving its own search prowess while continuing to license its data to AI companies.
User growth
Reddit Answers saw a jump in weekly users
Reddit's core search has over 70 million weekly active unique users, while its AI search tool Reddit Answers has six million weekly users. The latter was launched in December and saw a jump from one million weekly users in Q1 this year. Huffman said that "every week, hundreds of millions of people come to Reddit looking for advice," and they are turning more of that intent into active users of Reddit's native search.
AI integration
Importance of AI for Reddit
As the internet evolves, Huffman said Reddit's role as a community-powered platform for human connection is becoming more critical. The company is heavily investing in AI, with CTO Chris Slowe previously stating that the initial rollout of Reddit Answers is going "really well."