• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 7, 2024

Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman said during the company's earnings call earlier this week that it plans to test AI-powered search result later this year that will summarize and recommend content to help site visitors find new communities.

Huffman said Reddit will test it using a combination of technologies -- some that the company owns and others from third parties. Today, users query more than 1 billion searches per month on Reddit, and the goal is to improve the search experience and success rate on the platform.

"We're seeing an evolution in the search ecosystem where Internet search, summarization and training are blending," Huffman said. "We are seeking the right balance between openness and protecting our users and platform."

Earlier this year, Reddit partnered separately with Google and OpenAI.

Reddit in May announced a partnership with OpenAI to use its large language models and build AI-powered features. For OpenAI, the deal also gives it permission to use the social network’s data. Reddit and Google signed a similar agreement earlier this year. 

"Our preference is for Reddit it to be open and indexed in third-party search, and we are in discussions with both big and small search engines towards this end," Huffman said. "Some players in the ecosystem have not been transparent with their use of Reddit's content. And in those instances, we've blocked access to protect Reddit content and user privacy."

One of those search engines is Microsoft Bing. At the time, a Reddit spokesperson told Media Daily News, "we are open to working with partners, big and small, and are doing so today," as long as the company follows Reddit's content rules.

Reddit has benefited from working with search engines, which in July accounted for 60% of Reddit's site visitors, according to Similarweb.

Search traffic to Reddit from Google also increased as a result of using 36 million keywords.

Benefits have also come from AI.  "Using AI, we are reducing the moderation burden and making Reddit's platform safer," Huffman said during the call. "We're evolving what the day-to-day looks like for moderators on Reddit, allowing them to spend more time engaging and growing their communities. International expansion remains a top priority and one of our largest opportunities."

International expansion requires the ability to translate languages using AI and machine learning. About half of Reddit's users are outside of the U.S. International locations drove growth in Q2, both in users and revenue. Daily active international users exceeded 45 million, growing 44% year-over-year and 11% from Q1. This was led by France, India, the U.K. and the Philippines.

Translation technology using ML is available in French, and the company is working to expand the transition service to German, Spanish and Portuguese. The goal is to provide it in any language. Search and data licensing are also priorities.