Reddit begins testing an AI-powered search tool to take on Google.

News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 10th December 2024

Reddit has started rolling out a new artificial intelligence function that will assist users find answers within Reddit conversations and posts, the company announced on Tuesday. The function, known as Reddit Answers, is presently being tested with a select group of users in the United States as part of an early experiment before becoming more freely available.

Reddit Answers operates similarly to other AI search solutions created by technology businesses. It responds to user questions by summarizing conversations from throughout the social media network and linking to relevant communities and articles. In essence, the functionality serves as an AI chatbot that can make recommendations and suggest follow-up inquiries.

Consider how Google Gemini and ChatGPT respond to user queries; yet, this technology was created by Reddit. The primary distinction between Reddit Answers and Google Gemini or other AI chatbots is that the Reddit-created chatbot obtains its information primarily from Reddit postings, rather than from across the web.For example, if a user asks Reddit Answers how to fix a Mac, the AI tool will provide a bullet-point list of recommendations, summaries, and quotes from relevant Reddit threads. Users can then use the links in the answers to navigate directly to the relevant Reddit posts.

With Reddit Answers, the social media platform continues to minimize its reliance on Google. Because the feature obtains information directly from Reddit, users can avoid using Google or OpenAI’s ChatGPT to locate relevant communities and topics. Over the last two months, Reddit has prevented major search engines and AI chatbots from viewing recent posts and comments unless they pay a fee. Currently, Google is the only search engine that still shows Reddit results.

Reddit Answers is a new endeavor by the company to improve the way people search for information on the platform. The firm sees Reddit Answers as part of a “longer-term vision to improve the search experience” on its social network. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman recently stated that search will be a “focused investment” for the company in 2025.

Reddit Answers is based on Reddit’s existing search architecture and incorporates AI models from OpenAI and Google Cloud. The company has data-licensing agreements with OpenAI and Google, which allow companies to compensate Reddit for using its data to train AI models.Reddit, formerly considered one of the internet’s darkest corners, has developed into one of the remaining big platforms for unedited conversations, as well as a reliable source of news and entertainment. With more users than ever, Reddit is focusing on monetizing its user base by delivering more personalized services and pushing them to register profiles on the platform. Currently, Reddit Answers is only available in English for iOS and desktop users. However, the company plans to expand the feature to Android users and support additional languages in the future.