Reddit has just completed its second earnings call as a public company, and CEO Steve Huffman hinted at some significant changes coming to the platform. During the call, the Reddit co-founder said the company will begin testing AI-based search results later this year.
“Later this year, we’ll be testing a new AI-powered search results page that summarizes and recommends content, helping users dig deeper into products, shows, and games on Reddit, and discover new communities,” Huffman said. He didn’t say when the test would begin, but said it would use both first-party and third-party models.
Huffman noted that Reddit’s search has been “a constant for a long time,” but it’s a major opportunity to attract new users. He also said search could one day become a significant source of advertising revenue for the company.
Huffman hinted at other non-ad revenue streams, suggesting the company might experiment with paid subreddits as it looks to monetize new features. “I think the traditional, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive as it has,” Huffman said. “But now we’re opening up the door to new use cases, new types of subreddits with exclusive content or private areas, things like that.”
A Reddit spokesperson declined to elaborate on Huffman’s comments, but it’s no secret that the company has been looking for new ways to expand its business since going public earlier this year. It has multi-million dollar licensing deals and even a search engine that doesn’t pay the company.
“Some players in the ecosystem have not been transparent about their use of Reddit content, and when they do, we block access to Reddit content and user privacy,” Huffman said. “We want to know where Reddit data is going and what it’s being used for, and that’s a condition of participation.”
