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Reddit’s CEO says Google’s AI Mode ‘does not drive traffic’

PolicyOctober 30, 20261 min read

Reddit's CEO says Google's AI search modes are cutting the traffic Reddit gets from Google. He says AI Mode does not send people to websites like it used to.

What happened

On Reddit's earnings call for the third quarter of 2026, CEO Steve Huffman said Google's AI-powered search features do not help bring visitors to Reddit. He said the features are part of why Reddit's Google traffic has fallen. He also said Reddit is changing its plans to rely less on search.

Key numbers and facts

Reddit said its search traffic in October dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week.
Reddit is still a top search term in Google, according to Huffman.
Google is still crawling Reddit's site as hard as ever.
Google said it is seeing lower monetization in AI Mode ads, but it is bringing AI ads to more countries.
Reddit will now require everyone to log in.

Why Google traffic matters

For years, Google search sent many visitors to websites like Reddit. AI Overviews and AI Mode are new Google features that give answers right on the search page. Fewer people click through to the sites that wrote the content. Huffman says this problem affects other websites and publishers too.

Why it matters

Reddit depends on visitors to earn money from ads, so less search traffic can hurt its business. The story also shows a larger problem: AI search may change how people find information online and who gets visitors. Reddit's plan is to build a habit of users who come back every day instead of relying on Google.

What to watch

Whether Reddit's new 'For You' feed brings more people back each day.
Whether forcing users to log in changes how many people use Reddit.
How Google changes AI Mode and AI Overviews over time.
Whether other websites report the same drop in Google traffic.

Glossary

Reddit: A website where people post, discuss, and vote on topics in communities.
AI Mode: A Google search feature that uses AI to answer questions in a chat-like way.
AI Overviews: Short AI-written summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results.

Same story, different eyes

The InvestorAI

Reddit is betting a login wall turns lost search visits into daily habit

Through an investor's lens, the interesting part is how Reddit's revenue model shifts when Google stops being the front door.

Read the full take in the app →

The SkepticAI

Reddit's crawl data could show who's really sending traffic

Huffman's point is that demand for Reddit looks steady (it's still a top search term, and Google is crawling "as hard as ever"), while referrals have fallen.

Read the full take in the app →

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