Reddit Rides Google's AI Overview Wave, But Analysts Say It's All Smoke, No Clicks

Reddit's connection with Google is growing deeper, and it's not entirely a good thing. As the social media titan makes its way through its post-IPO phase, it's caught in an ironic digital dilemma: exploding visibility via Google's artificial intelligence tools but uncertain payback in terms of user engagement and long-term value.

When you type a word or phrase on Google Search, you will see AI information referencing what you search on Reddit. Some users figure out that there are errors in other information.

Google's AI Overview Favors Reddit Content

Reddit Rides Google's AI Overview Wave, But Analysts Say It's

Since introducing its AI Overview, a function that produces short, conversational responses to search queries, Google has raised some platforms to preferred status. As measured by analytics company Semrush, Reddit trails only Quora when it comes to citations in Google's AI-driven answers.

"Quora and Reddit users often ask and answer niche questions that aren't addressed elsewhere. Making them rich information sources for highly specific AI prompts," the study's authors wrote. "Reddit may also perform well because Google has a partnership with Reddit and uses Reddit data to train its systems."

Google's preference is not coincidental. Google signed a $60 million agreement with Reddit last year and got access to Reddit's extensive collection of user-created content to use in training its AI models. In return, Reddit was given the assurance of greater visibility and a more detailed presentation of its content in search results.

Increased Visibility Doesn't Mean Increased Value

That partnership has, on the surface, paid off. Reddit's web traffic has seen noticeable growth over the past year, particularly from Google Search. However, a closer look at the data reveals that this trend is something not worth celebrating. Much of that traffic is coming from logged-out users—people who are not Reddit account holders and who rarely engage with the platform beyond the answer they were seeking.

According to Business Insider, Redburn analysts pointed out that the logged-out user growth has driven accelerated user growth largely. With this, these people just normally want to seek a quick answer to a question and visit the platform for extremely little time.

In the cutthroat business of advertising, such users are worth much less than registered, participating community members. Reddit's business model relies on time on site, user interaction, and community participation—all of which are negligible with this new influx of flyby visitors.

AI Summaries Could Be Stealing Reddit's Own Clicks

Ironically enough, Google's AI Overview is a double-edged sword. By posting condensed answers right in the search results, Google is cutting down on users actually having to click through to Reddit. That means the "heart of the internet" is receiving the exposure, but perhaps not necessarily the traffic or ad revenue that goes with it.

Following the release of the AI Overview in its entirety by Google, Reddit's shares plummeted. Analysts indicated the fear that even with its high visibility in search, the platform stood to lose direct visits and user conversions.

As usual, run thorough research regarding what you search online, as Google AI can make up fake sayings. Our April report said that the platform claimed false information as real, including random phrases like "toss and turn with a worm" and "eat an anaconda. Initially, there was a smart explanation behind these phrases, but none of them made any sense.