Jakarta, INTI - Reddit indicated on Thursday that its AI-driven search engine could become a major growth opportunity for the company, not only as a product enhancement but also as a future revenue stream with a direct impact on profitability. Speaking during its fourth-quarter earnings call, the company shared progress on integrating traditional search with AI-powered capabilities and suggested that while monetization has yet to begin, “it’s an enormous market and opportunity.”
The company also emphasized its confidence that generative AI search will be “better for most queries.”
“There’s a type of query we’re, I think, particularly good at, I would argue, the best on the internet, which is questions that have no answers, where the answer actually is multiple perspectives from lots of people,” said Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.
Conventional search functions largely as a navigation tool, helping users locate relevant links or specific subreddits. However, Huffman noted that large language models can perform this role just as effectively, or even better. “So that’s the direction we’re going.”
The executive further revealed strong user growth in Reddit’s search features. Over the past year, weekly active users for search increased by 30%, rising from 60 million to 80 million. Meanwhile, weekly active users of the AI-powered Reddit Answers jumped from 1 million in the first quarter of 2025 to 15 million by the fourth quarter.
Reddit Upgrades AI Answers to Become a Go-To Platform for Information
“We’re seeing a lot of growth there, and I think there’s a lot of potential too,” Huffman added.
Reddit explained that it is upgrading the AI answers interface by enriching responses with more media elements, with pilot programs already in progress.
The company is also rethinking its positioning as more than just a social platform, aiming to become a destination where users actively seek answers. During the earnings call, Reddit informed investors that it plans to eliminate the distinction between logged-in and logged-out users starting in the third quarter of 2026. The goal is to personalize the platform using AI and machine learning, ensuring content relevance for every visitor.
AI Search and Traditional Search Move Toward a Unified Experience
Back in 2025, Reddit announced plans to merge its AI-powered search tool, Reddit Answers, with its traditional search engine to enhance user experience. By the fourth quarter, the company said it had made “significant progress” toward unifying its core search with its AI capabilities. It also expanded Reddit Answers into five additional languages and began testing dynamic agents, alongside search results that now include “media beyond text.”
While Reddit continues to invest in improving its AI-driven answers, it is also capitalizing on its data through content licensing. This business allows third parties to train AI models using Reddit’s data and is recorded under the company’s “other” revenue category, separate from advertising income. That segment grew 8% year over year to $36 million in the fourth quarter and climbed 22% to reach $140 million for the full year 2025.
Conclusion
Reddit’s push to modernize AI-driven search and unify it with traditional discovery tools signals a strategic shift toward becoming a primary destination for information, not just online discussion. With rising user engagement, enhanced AI features, and expanding content licensing revenue, the company is positioning AI as a core driver of both product innovation and long-term business growth.
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