Reddit Challenges Google as Search Engine Ambitions Take Center Stage
In Spanish, they say al maestro cuchillada for when the pupil becomes skilled enough to cut the master. After a decade-plus of receiving Google’sGOOG search traffic, RedditRDDT has finally turned the blade, declaring a full-scale assault on its benefactor. CEO Steve Huffman announced search as a top priority, marking the social platform’s bold pivot into a search engine.
- With a wealth of forum wisdom, Reddit Answers has exploded from 1M to 6M weekly users in a quarter — now integrating the AI search tool deeper and making it a central feature.
- As Google’s “AI Overviews” usurp website traffic,RDDT is reducing its reliance on the volatile provider — opting to compete directly with ChatGPT, Perplexity, and the aforementioned maestro.
Search gambit: Reddit’s bold declaration sent shares soaring 17.5% Friday, capping its fastest quarterly revenue growth seen in three years. As the number one most cited domain across AI models,RDDT’s ad business is thriving, while data licensing deals with AI companies like OpenAI and Google add $35M in “other revenue”. Still, despite positioning itself as Google’s rival, Reddit depends on the search giant for two-thirds of its traffic. Talk about biting the algorithm that feeds you.