Reddit AI Transforms Text Posts Into AI-Generated Videos and Podcasts to Boost User Engagement

Reddit's AI is turning posts into podcasts and short videos

Reddit is trying out a new way for people to take in content on Reddit: by turning text posts into audio / video content. As part of an experiment, some posts are being adapted into videos that use AI voices to read the text of the main post and some comments. The video highlights the text as it's read by the AI voice, and under the video, a note says that it's a "Real conversation voiced by AI." An old post in r/boardgames from eight years ago with 101 responses to a request for good road trip games that adults will like is an example of Reddit's AI at work. Instead of the usual text thread, it has the main question above a three-minute video full of AI voices reading out the responses. You can still access the post from a slider toggle at the top marked "Read" for text or "Play" for the video. Playing the video is probably easier for someone who isn't used to internet forums, but it could introduce other problems, like mispronunciations or citing incorrect comments. The launch follows Reddit recently saying in an earnings shareholder letter that it was "reimagining how users and communities connect, share, and consume content through a modernized video experience on Reddit." In an earnings call, CEO Steve Huffman also hinted at this new experiment, saying the company was working on a way to let people listen to posts in the background. He noted that there is an "emerging content type" where people read Reddit content -- there are whole channels of videos that are just AI voices reading Reddit posts -- and Huffman said a listened-to or spoken version of Reddit "can be really engaging as well." The experiment is currently live for me on the web, and it's set to roll out on iOS and Android starting Tuesday, spokesperson Rosa Kim tells The Verge. "This is an early, limited experiment to understand whether people find these formats useful and how we can deliver them in a way that feels authentic to Reddit," according to Kim. The experiment will start with "select existing posts first" and will be expanded to more existing posts over time. Earlier this year, Reddit also rolled out video replies.

Reddit is testing AI-generated videos that read text posts aloud

Reddit is testing a new feature that uses AI to convert text posts to video and audio. Rolling out from Monday in web browsers, the feature hopes to capitalise on the popularity of videos that read Reddit posts aloud. The AI-generated videos will expand to iOS and Android on Tuesday. Though currently restricted to a few manually selected English-language posts in designated subreddits, Reddit plans to eventually broaden the trial further. "The experiment uses AI to create new audio and video formats and bring real human conversations to life, including multi-voice text-to-speech, captions, and visual template," a Reddit spokesperson said, confirming the test to Mashable. Fortunately, this test doesn't mean you'll be forced to ingest your favourite subreddits in video form. The original text posts and comments will still be available in their usual format, allowing you to choose whether to read or listen to the content. Posts with this new feature available will have a toggle appear above them, allowing users to switch between "Read" and "Play." While "Read" displays the Reddit post and comments as normal, switching to "Play" produces a video in a TikTok-style portrait orientation. An AI-generated voice reads out both the post and select comments, displaying the text and lighting up words like a karaoke video, while a note below the video states that it is a "Real conversation voiced by AI." "We are testing whether these formats are useful and how Reddit can authentically scale these experiences, with the goal of understanding how different conversation formats can make Reddit more accessible and immersive in more moments," Reddit said in a statement. "Someone might want to listen to Reddit while exercising, walking, running errands, or watch written conversations come to life through video and audio." This new AI-powered feature was previously mentioned during the company's Q2 earnings call in July, with CEO Steve Huffman noting the increasing popularity of videos and podcasts in which people read Reddit posts aloud. Though such clips are now common on video platforms like TikTok and YouTube, Reddit itself remains primarily text-based. Unsurprisingly, the social media platform now wants in on the action, aiming to use AI to cut out the middleman. "[W]e're working on... just a video Reddit experience, so letting users not just watch video on Reddit, but listen to posts, background listen to posts," Huffman said during the earnings call. "We see folks doing this off platform. There's an emerging content type elsewhere in the internet of basically, a podcast where people read Reddit content. And so I think this version of like, listened to -- or spoken -- Reddit can be really engaging as well." Reddit indicated an increased focus on video content in its Q2 shareholder letter, stating that it's working toward "reimagining how users and communities connect, share, and consume content through a modernized video experience." The company previously launched video comments in June, allowing users to record and upload short clips in response to posts. Reddit is also increasing the integration of AI into the platform, having expanded testing of its AI-powered moderation tools to all new subreddits earlier this month. Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts.

Reddit AI to Convert Posts into Podcasts, Video for Users: Report

Reddit, a popular platform for people to connect, get answer to questions, and share experiences, has announced a major development. The company has confirmed that it is working on an AI (artificial intelligence) feature, which will convert the Reddit posts into audio and video format. This will basically narrate the posts like a podcast, or an explainer video, to make it easy for users to understand the content. * Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source So Why is Reddit Doing This AI Feature? Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman, during the second-quarter earnings call in July, confirmed that they noticed a pattern that people are already picking Reddit posts, and converting it into podcasts, and video posts on other platforms. Reddit wants this to be enabled inside the platform itself. This may help the platform in increasing user retention. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Meta's Instagram Reels have creators coming up with text-to-speech content, and getting all of Reddit content distributed there. This is, in a manner, Reddit losing out on the content retention and user retention because its platform is basically used to build content for other platforms, and users are consuming it primarily not on Reddit. On the earnings call, Huffman said, "There is an emerging content type elsewhere on the internet of, basically, podcasts where people read Reddit content. I think this version of, like, listened-to or spoken Reddit can be really engaging, as well." The platform is currently in the testing stage for this. It has not been widely rolled out. The initial tests, with limited users will allow Reddit to understand whether this feature can actually be useful for the users or not. Once rolled out, users will be able to either "read" or "play" a post, when available. Initially, the platform will only test it for smartphones, both iOS and Android. Keep reading TelecomTalk to stay updated with the tech and telecom developments.