Reddit was "The front page of the internet" for a good reason.
During its earlier years, the platform was considered a central hub for discovering and discussing what’s happening online. The slogan emphasized how Reddit aggregates content from across the web, driven by user submissions and community votes, much like a personalized newspaper front page.
The phrase also reflected Reddit’s appeal as a source for breaking news, viral stories, and niche discussions—essentially where people could find what was trending before it spread elsewhere on the internet. It became iconic, symbolizing Reddit's influence in shaping online culture.
But fast forward, Reddit is more into "Find your community" and "Dive into anything," and also being "The heart of the internet."
Not that these bad slogans, but having a huge reliance on search engines for traffic isn't really that effective, since a lot of answers that are shown on the results pages of search engines, notably Google, are actually sourced from Reddit.
So instead of having search engines shove users answers from Reddit, why not make Reddit answer the question i
In a blog post, Reddit said that:
Reddit is testing what it calls 'Reddit Answers,' which is essentially an AI-powered feature that allows users to ask questions and receive answers in a conversational format.
When a question is posted, the platform compiles summaries of relevant discussions and key details from across Reddit, complete with links to related posts and communities.
This enables users to quickly access useful insights, explore entire conversations, and dive deeper by asking follow-up questions or using suggested queries.
Recognizing Reddit as a hub for diverse opinions and advice, the AI-powered search aims to enhance the browsing experience by delivering more accurate, faster, and smarter results.
The feature is currently being tested with a limited group of U.S.-based users in English, with plans to expand its availability to more languages and regions soon.
In essence, Reddit aims to bypass intermediaries by transforming user posts into a question-and-answer hub, enhanced with AI-generated summaries.
But this is where it then fall short.
Question, meet Answers.
Starting today, we’re rolling out a limited test in the U.S. of Reddit Answers—an AI-powered way to get the information, recommendations, and hot takes you only go to Reddit for. https://t.co/jPBdqEd2JL— Reddit, Inc. (@Reddit) December 9, 2024
Reddit's approach mirrors what Google and Bing do with their AI-powered search features.
However, Reddit does it a few differences that really affect how it works.
First, the Reddit Answers feature draws exclusively from its own posts. Unlike Google and Bing which devour the web their crawlers can crawl onto and squeeze into, Reddit Answers only learn to answer question based on whatever it learned from users posts on Reddit.
Given the variable quality of information found in online forums, this could lead to odd or inaccurate answers.
Second, is the way it weighs its answers. Whereas traditional search engines that factor in content reliability, Reddit prioritizes upvotes and user reputation within specific subreddits.
According to a Reddit spokesperson, the AI will prioritize highly upvoted responses and top-ranking comments. However, the system aims to provide "balanced answers" by including multiple perspectives when relevant.
And third, whereas search engines tend to avoid answering questions about politics and sensitive topics and instead rely on its existing ranking algorithms, Reddit's system is less restrictive, which means that it has the potential to amplify popular but less accurate opinions.
Regardless, if considering Reddit's partnership with Google, the AI feature should be a welcome addition to the platform, at least for hardcore users of Reddit who can live without Google.