Reddit to launch AI-generated search summaries to boost user engagement, announces CEO Steve Huffman

Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman, shared significant updates during the company's Q2 earnings call, as reported by Gadgets 360. Huffman announced that Reddit will begin testing AI-generated summaries for search results. These summaries, aimed at boosting user interaction with the platform’s diverse content—including games, communities, and product showcases—will be prominently featured at the top of search pages.

The new feature is designed to provide users with more profound insights into their search topics. Huffman also highlighted Reddit's robust search capabilities, noting that users conduct over 1 billion searches each month. Recent statistics show a substantial rise in user engagement, with the platform boasting 342.3 million weekly active users, marking a 57% increase from the previous year.

Alongside the search summaries, Reddit has been enhancing its platform with various AI-driven tools. Huffman pointed to the success of Reddit's AI-powered translation feature, with France emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for this tool. The translation support will soon extend to German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Reddit has also forged strategic partnerships with major tech companies like Google and OpenAI. A deal with Google, valued at around $60 million annually, allows the tech giant to use Reddit’s content to train its AI models. Meanwhile, OpenAI has secured access to Reddit’s Data API, enabling real-time content sourcing for products like ChatGPT. This collaboration allows Reddit to leverage OpenAI's large language models (LLMs) to create innovative AI features for its platform.

Earlier this month, new challenges arose for tech giant Microsoft as Steve Huffman announced an end to free data scraping on Reddit, according to The Verge. Huffman is urging Microsoft and other tech companies to pay for access to Reddit's data, following lucrative agreements with Google and OpenAI.

Huffman stressed the importance of these deals for maintaining control over Reddit's data and ensuring its responsible use. Without such agreements, Reddit cannot oversee how its data is presented or utilized, risking potential misuse.