Reddit launched Reddit Answers, an AI-powered search tool that curates and summarizes discussions to enhance user experience and reduce reliance on Google.
Reddit is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI) with a new search tool, Reddit Answers, designed to help users find information without relying on external search engines like Google. By summarizing discussions across its platform, Reddit updates its AI search tool to make it easier to surface relevant insights from the site’s vast user-generated content.
CEO Steve Huffman highlighted the untapped potential of Reddit’s archives, describing it as a “massive corpus of information” accumulated over two decades. “We’re starting to unlock that with Answers,” he said during Reddit’s Q4 2024 earnings call. “We’ll continue to iterate on this product.”
AI-Powered Search Could Change How Users Navigate Reddit
Reddit updates its AI search tool beyond simple links by curating and summarizing key insights, offering bullet-pointed responses alongside links to original discussions. Various sources who tested the tool described how clicking on a topic - like “tips for flying with a baby for the first time” pulled together a concise list of suggestions, each linking back to its source. The sidebar shows the exact post from which the information comes.
Beyond organization, Reddit Answers is designed to provide near real-time updates on trending topics. However, early tests indicate that accuracy isn’t perfect. It was found that when asked, “Who won yesterday’s NFL game?” the AI retrieved outdated results, suggesting that while the tool excels at general knowledge, it may struggle with fast-changing events.
Huffman hinted at integrating AI-powered search into Reddit’s onboarding process to boost user engagement and retention. “Helping the user be able to search directly on Reddit, refine their queries on Reddit, eventually come directly to Reddit for those types of queries… that signal [has] incredible monetization potential,” he said.
Investors Are Wary, But Reddit Pushes Forward
Despite these innovations, Reddit’s latest financial results fell short of investor expectations. The company reported 101.7 million daily active unique users in Q4 2024 - missing projections of 103.1 million. CFO Drew Vollero confirmed that Reddit is hiring engineers to expand its AI search capabilities, forming a “small search team” dedicated to refining the technology.
Currently, Reddit Answers is rolling out to a limited number of U.S. users, available on the web and iOS. An Android version is in development, with plans for expansion into additional languages and regions.
