Reddit just wrapped up its second earnings call as a public company, and CEO Steve Huffman hinted at some big changes that could be coming to the platform. During the call, the Reddit co-founder said the company would begin testing ai-powered search results later this year.
“Later this year, we will begin testing new ai-powered search results pages to summarize and recommend content, helping users dig deeper into products, shows, and games and discover new communities on Reddit,” Huffman said. He didn’t say when those tests would begin, but said both first-party and third-party models would be used.
Huffman noted that search on Reddit “hasn't changed for a long time,” but that it's an important opportunity to attract new users. He also said that search could one day be a major source of advertising revenue for the company.
Huffman also hinted at other, non-advertising revenue streams. He suggested the company could experiment with paid subreddits as it looks to monetize new features. “I think the existing, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive just as it has,” Huffman said. “But now we’re going to open the door to new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be created that can have exclusive content or private areas, things of that nature.”
A Reddit spokesperson declined to elaborate on Huffman's remarks. But it's no secret that the company has been looking for new ways to expand its business since going public earlier this year. It has struck multimillion-dollar licensing deals and search engines that don't pay the company.
“Some players in the ecosystem have not been transparent about their use of Reddit content, and in those cases we block access to protect Reddit content and user privacy,” Huffman said. “We want to know where Reddit data is going and what it is being used for, and those are the conditions of participation.”
