"Reddit Answers" will answer questions with AI-generated summaries of user content.
Reddit Answers Logo Reddit Answers Logo
Credit: Reddit
On Monday, Reddit announced it would test an AI-powered search feature called "Reddit Answers" that uses an AI model to create summaries from existing Reddit posts to respond to user questions, reports Reuters.
The feature generates responses by searching through Reddit's vast collection of community discussions and comments. When users ask questions, Reddit Answers provides summaries of relevant conversations and includes links to related communities and posts.
The move potentially puts Reddit in competition with traditional search engines like Google and newer AI search tools like those from OpenAI and Perplexity. But while other companies pull information from across the Internet, Reddit Answers focuses only on content within Reddit's platform.
Reddit Answers is currently in early access. Reddit will limit the initial Reddit Answers rollout to English-speaking users in the US before expanding to other languages and regions.
Reddit’s AI twists and turns
Reddit's history with generative AI has been full of twists and turns thus far. In April 2023, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announced the company would begin charging large companies to access its API for AI training purposes, noting that the platform's 18 years of human-generated content held substantial value.
The company then went on to strike deals with major tech firms, including a $60 million agreement with Google in February 2024 and a partnership with OpenAI in May 2024 that integrated Reddit content into ChatGPT.
But Reddit users haven't been entirely happy with the deals. In October 2024, London-based Redditors began posting false restaurant recommendations to manipulate search results and keep tourists away from their favorite spots. This coordinated effort to feed incorrect information into AI systems demonstrated how user communities might intentionally "poison" AI training data over time.
Still, the company has been reporting strong user growth, with daily active unique visitors growing to 97.2 million in Q3 2023, representing a 47 percent increase from the previous year, according to Reuters. The company is preparing for an anticipated initial public offering, expected in March 2024.
The potential for trouble
While it's tempting to lean heavily into generative AI technology while it is currently trendy, the move could also represent a challenge for the company. For example, Reddit's AI-powered summaries could potentially draw from inaccurate information featured on the site and provide incorrect answers, or it may draw inaccurate conclusions from correct information.
We will keep an eye on Reddit's new AI-powered search tool to see if it resists the type of confabulation that we've seen with Google's AI Overview, an AI summary bot that has been a critical failure so far.
Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent Condé Nast, is the largest shareholder of Reddit.