Reddit is currently experimenting with an AI-driven response feature in an effort to attract more users.

• The company announced on Monday that Reddit is introducing a new AI feature to assist users in quickly locating answers through their posts.
• Users can ask questions on Reddit Answers in the same way as with ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other generative AI services.
• By leveraging Reddit Answers, the company can potentially increase its user base and decrease its dependence on Google for traffic.

The company announced Monday that it is introducing a new AI feature that will assist users in quickly locating answers based on their posts.

Before launching the Reddit Answers feature to all users, a limited number of U.S. Reddit users will be selected for a test.

The new button on Reddit's homepage allows users to ask AI questions, similar to how they can with ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other generative AI services.

Unlike other AI-powered chat and search tools, Reddit's AI-generated answers are derived from posts on the platform, not from the internet.

The AI tool will provide a list of tips, summaries, and quotes from Reddit posts related to the question of how to modify a particular BMW model. Users can click on links in the answers to access the full Reddit post.

Reddit Vice President of Product Serkan Piantino informed CNBC that the company has been testing Reddit Answers for six months as part of its plan to enhance the search experience on the platform.

Piantino stated that Reddit Answers is more focused on facilitating access to more Reddit content rather than being a substitute for it.

Piantino stated that people can use Reddit Answers to inquire about any topic, except those classified as NSFW.

In October, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman informed analysts that search is a "targeted investment" for the company in 2025 because of its effectiveness and its ability to assist new users in finding their place on Reddit.

"According to Huffman, the product assists core users in navigating Reddit, answering their questions, and presents a monetization opportunity. It is unique in that it affects various aspects of the platform."

Reddit Answers utilizes AI models from OpenAI and Google Cloud, and has data-licensing agreements with both companies to access their data for improving their AI models.

Reddit has experienced a surge in new users due to Google's algorithm update that prioritizes authentic content from online forums.

Since the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of logged-out users on Reddit has surpassed the number of logged-in users, despite the platform's growth and improved search results. As a result, Reddit has been unable to monetize logged-out users as effectively as logged-in users, prompting the company to introduce more personalized features to encourage logged-out users to create accounts.

"In October, Huffman stated that Reddit is the sixth most searched word on Google in the US this year, and people are intentionally typing the word "Reddit" into Google to navigate to the website."

By introducing a feature on Reddit Answers, the company may attract more users to search for content on the platform, thereby reducing its dependence on Google for traffic. If the feature is successful, it could encourage new users to sign up for accounts.

Piantino stated that AI has a role in search and that's how they view it. He also mentioned that Reddit Answers is currently only available in English for iOS and desktop users, but the company plans to expand to Android users and other languages in the future.

Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, believes that advertisers should be present on the platform.