- Reddit CEO Steve Huffman showed interest in expanding the platform to its own search engine.
- The website is already rolling out its AI-powered Reddit Answers globally to more regions.
- Reddit as a search engine can become a reliable source of information if Google ever turns into a diluted AI mess.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has recently expressed interest in expanding the website into its own search engine, as demand for human-written answers is increasing amid the abundance of AI-generated content.
The CEO stated in its second-quarter earnings report that Reddit is “concentrating our resources on the areas that will drive results for our most pressing needs,” which also includes “making Reddit a go-to search engine.” As a result, the platform is expanding its AI search tool called Reddit Answers globally to more regions.
The platform celebrated its 20th anniversary last month, and now, it plans to deeply integrate Reddit Answers into the general experience. Expanding Reddit as a search engine is an optimistic thought on Huffman’s part, given the rising demand for genuine answers from real people these days.
Google is taking blue links out of the equation, serving answers through AI Overviews and the new AI Mode. But Reddit building its own search could hurt the traffic the service gets from Google. According to the earnings report, the platform sees 416.4 million weekly active unique users, and a good chunk of it is coming from Google.
So, going against the search giant doesn’t sound like a wise decision, but it can be a good alternative to offer if Google ever becomes too diluted with AI to be considered unreliable. What do you think about Reddit’s search engine? Would you want to use it? Let us know in the comments below.
