Reddit is working hard to keep its online communities safe from a rise in artificial intelligence (AI) content, Financial Times reports (unpaywalled copy).
Reddit has 20 years of real conversations about many topics, making it a valuable resource. This has led to big deals with companies like Google and OpenAI to use Reddit’s content to train large language models (LLMs). Chief executive Steve Huffman says Reddit’s strength lies in its human voices, offering lived experiences and authentic discussions that set it apart from AI-driven websites.
As AI tools rely more on Reddit, advertisers are showing interest. Brands want to join the platform by creating accounts and posting content, hoping their ads appear in AI chatbot responses. This has sparked what some call a “massive migration” of advertisers to Reddit. However, Huffman warns against fake or AI-generated posts. The site plans to add strict checks to ensure only humans can post, using methods like upvoting or downvoting, where users vote to show they like or dislike content. This keeps the community real and trusted.
Balancing growth and authenticity
To fight AI misuse, Reddit is exploring human verification tools, such as World ID, an eyeball-scanning technology that confirms users are human without revealing their names. This is a priority for the site this year. Last month, Reddit sued AI startup Anthropic for scraping its content over 100,000 times since July 2024, showing its effort to protect its data. Meanwhile, new AI-powered tools help marketers track trends and highlight positive user content under ads.
Reddit now hosts over 100,000 communities focused on various interests, with many discussions about products or services. About 40 percent of these talks relate to services, and a quarter offer recommendations. However, some advertisers say the platform needs better ways to target users. Reddit is also improving for its users with an AI search tool that shows exact quotes from communities and translation features for 13 languages, like Korean and Japanese, planned for later this year.
Founded 20 years ago, Reddit has grown from 12 million daily users to over 100 million, with revenue topping $1.3 billion. It went public in March 2024 with a $6.4 billion valuation, now at $26 billion. Huffman believes Reddit’s direct traffic and evolving search role will help it thrive despite changes like Google’s AI Overviews.