Reddit CEO: Google AI Overviews Make Search Traffic Unpredictable

Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman, states that Google's use of AI-generated search summaries makes search traffic unpredictable. This is because Google's AI Overviews provide answers directly on search results pages, rather than sending users to external websites. What's interesting is that Reddit has traditionally depended on Google Search to attract users. Huffman notes that while the company has seen shifts in search traffic before, this new model hasn't yet delivered comparable benefits to the previous search ecosystem. Reddit earns revenue from advertising and data licensing, with its "other revenue" segment, which includes licensing, increasing 24% year-on-year to $43 million. To reduce its reliance on search referrals, Reddit is focusing on product improvements and user retention. Huffman emphasizes that many users still look for authentic discussions over AI-generated summaries. The bottom line is that these changes could impact how you find information online.