Reddit positions AI search as next major revenue opportunity with 80 million weekly users

Reddit looks to AI search as its next big opportunity

Reddit suggested on Thursday that its AI-powered search engine could be the next big opportunity for its business -- not just in terms of product, but as a revenue driver impacting its bottom line. During the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday, the company offered an update on its plans to merge traditional and AI search together and hinted that although search is not yet monetized, "it's an enormous market and opportunity." In particular, the company believes 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. Traditional search, meanwhile, is more like navigation -- it's a way to find the right link to a topic or subreddit, he said. But LLMs can be good at this too, if not better, he said. "So that's the direction we're going." The exec also noted that weekly active users for search over the past year grew 30% from 60 million users to 80 million users. Meanwhile, the weekly active users for the AI-powered Reddit Answers grew from 1 million in the first quarter of 2025 to 15 million by the fourth quarter. "We're seeing a lot of growth there, and I think there's a lot of potential too," Huffman added. Reddit said it's working to modernize the AI answers interface by making its responses more media-rich, and pilots of this are already underway. The company is also thinking about how it can position itself when it's not just a social site, but a place people come for answers. Reddit told investors on the call that it's doing away with the distinction between logged-in and logged-out users starting in Q3 2026, as it will aim to personalize the site -- using AI and machine learning -- and make it relevant to whomever shows up. The company announced in 2025 it was planning to combine its AI search feature, Reddit Answers, with its traditional search engine to improve the experience for end users. In the fourth quarter, Reddit said it had made "significant progress" in unifying its core search and its AI feature. It also released five new languages on Reddit Answers and is piloting dynamic agents along with search results that include "media beyond text." Though Reddit sees value in its AI answers, it's not been keeping that to itself. The company's content licensing business, which allows other companies to train their AI models on its data, is growing, too. That business revenue is reported as part of Reddit's "other" revenues (i.e., its non-ad revenue). This "other" revenue increased by 8% year-over-year to reach $36 million in Q4, and was up 22% to reach $140 million for 2025.

Reddit identifies AI search as a major future revenue driver

Reddit held its fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday, where executives positioned the company's AI-powered search engine as a key business opportunity and potential revenue driver. CEO Steve Huffman explained that generative AI search performs effectively for queries lacking a single answer by aggregating multiple user perspectives. Huffman specified during the call that Reddit excels at handling questions without definitive answers. He stated, "There's a type of query we're, I think, particularly good at -- I think, the best on the internet -- which is questions that have no answers, where the answer actually is multiple perspectives from lots of people." This approach draws from the platform's extensive community discussions to deliver comprehensive responses. The CEO contrasted this with traditional search functions, describing them primarily as navigational tools to locate specific links, topics, or subreddits. He noted that large language models used in Reddit's system can handle such navigation equally well or superior to conventional methods. Huffman concluded on this point by declaring, "So that's the direction we're going," signaling a strategic shift toward integrated AI capabilities across search functionalities. Reddit reported substantial growth in search engagement metrics over the past year. Weekly active users of its search feature increased by 30 percent, expanding from 60 million to 80 million users. This growth underscores the rising reliance on Reddit's search tools amid broader platform usage. Separate metrics for the AI-powered Reddit Answers feature showed even more rapid adoption. Weekly active users rose from 1 million in the first quarter of 2025 to 15 million by the fourth quarter of that year. Huffman commented on this trajectory, saying, "We're seeing a lot of growth there, and I think there's a lot of potential too." Executives emphasized that search remains unmonetized currently but represents an enormous market opportunity. To enhance user experience, Reddit is modernizing the interface for AI answers, incorporating more media-rich responses that include elements beyond plain text. Pilots for these updates are already in progress, testing dynamic agents that deliver search results enriched with visual and multimedia content. The company also expanded Reddit Answers to five new languages during the quarter, broadening its accessibility to non-English speaking communities. These developments align with ongoing efforts to position Reddit not only as a social platform but as a primary destination for obtaining answers to diverse queries. In 2025, Reddit announced plans to merge its AI search feature, Reddit Answers, with its traditional search engine, aiming to streamline the overall user experience. By the fourth quarter, the company reported having made "significant progress" in unifying its core search infrastructure with the AI-powered feature. Reddit further detailed plans to eliminate the distinction between logged-in and logged-out users starting in the third quarter of 2026. This change will enable personalization of the site using AI and machine learning techniques for all visitors, regardless of account status, to deliver tailored and relevant content upon arrival. Complementing internal product advancements, Reddit's content-licensing business continues to expand. This segment allows other companies to train their AI models using Reddit's data. Revenue from such licensing falls under the company's "other" category, excluding advertising income. In the fourth quarter, "other" revenue grew 8 percent year-over-year to $36 million. For the full year of 2025, it increased 22 percent to $140 million.