Reddit wants to be your new search engine

A person holds a smartphone displaying the logo of Reddit Inc

Credit: Cheng Xin/Getty Images

Reddit, like nearly every major tech company right now, is going all-in on AI, and its next big bet is transforming itself into a full-blown search engine.

That’s straight from Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. According to TechCrunch, Huffman told investors during the company’s latest earnings call on Thursday: "Reddit is one of the few platforms positioned to become a true search destination. We offer something special — a breadth of conversations and knowledge you can’t find anywhere else."

He’s not wrong. For years, internet users have added "reddit" to the end of their Google searches to filter past SEO sludge and find real human answers. The habit became so widespread that Google eventually baked Reddit content directly into its search results.

But Reddit doesn’t want to be drowned out by Google’s AI search push — it wants to be the answer. Like Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft, the company is focusing on "its own" AI-driven search experience. That effort centers around the website's search function and Reddit Answers, an AI-assisted tool that is powered by Gemini AI, according to Google.

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Reddit Answers, which now serves 6 million users and is being tested in a dozen countries, functions much like ChatGPT, offering conversational, in-depth responses to user queries by pulling from the platform’s massive archive of discussions. Instead of simply returning links or posts, it aims to synthesize answers in a more natural, AI-driven format.

The company plans to combine Reddit Answers with its core search function and redesign the app so the search bar takes center stage. According to Huffman, global expansion is on the way.

"We’re unifying those [Reddit Search and Reddit Answers] into a single search experience, and we’re gonna bring that front and center in the app," Huffman said in the call.

It’s all part of Reddit’s broader push to consolidate its user base and keep people on the platform, while also turning a solid profit. In Q2, the company reported a massive 78 percent revenue jump year-over-year, pulling in $500 million.

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Assistant Editor, General Assignments

Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.

In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].

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