Reddit CEO Attributes Search Referral Drop To Google AI Mode
Reddit's search traffic dropped by over 1 million referrals per week, CEO Steve Huffman blames Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, and the company plans to test a logged-in-only version of the site. The decline may impact Reddit's daily active users in the fourth quarter.
Original reporting · searchenginejournal.com
Original: “Reddit CEO Ties Search Referral Drop To Google AI Mode via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern”
Read “Reddit CEO Ties Search Referral Drop To Google AI Mode via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern” at Search Engine Journal →
How this was written. Content Catalyst wrote this article with a language model from Search Engine Journal’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Search Engine Journal’s report
- Reddit's search referral traffic dropped by over 1 million referrals per week, according to CEO Steve Huffman.
- The company attributes the decline to Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, as well as machine-translated content being ranked lower.
- Reddit plans to test a logged-in-only version of the site in select markets outside the US to determine the impact on search traffic.
- Logged-in and app users account for over 80% of Reddit's monetization, with third-quarter revenue growing 53% year over year.
- Reddit will continue to report logged-in and logged-out daily uniques by geography, providing insight into the impact of the login tests.
Reddit reported a significant decline in search referral traffic, with over 1 million fewer referrals per week, according to CEO Steve Huffman. This drop follows a third quarter where search referral traffic was down meaningfully, Search Engine Journal reported. The decline in search traffic may impact Reddit's daily active users in the fourth quarter.
The company's working hypothesis is that Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode are the primary cause of the decline, Huffman said. He noted that these features push other results down the page, potentially reducing traffic to Reddit. Additionally, Huffman mentioned that machine-translated content may be ranked lower, affecting traffic outside the US.
Reddit's daily active uniques held steady at 130.3 million globally from the second quarter to the third, but declined in the US. The US decline was driven by a drop in logged-out daily active uniques, which fell from 30.1 million to 27.3 million. In contrast, logged-in US daily active uniques rose slightly, according to the company's third-quarter letter.
The decline in search traffic has prompted Reddit to test a logged-in-only version of the site in select markets outside the US. The test aims to determine how much of Reddit users can see before being prompted to log in, including those arriving from search. Huffman noted that the test is partly meant to decide what a logged-out searcher sees after clicking a Reddit thread from Google.
Reddit plans to keep converting search-referred mobile web users to its app, with only about 13% of eligible mobile web users currently seeing the app conversion prompt. The company also reported that logged-in and app users account for over 80% of its monetization, with third-quarter revenue growing 53% year over year to $895 million.
The company's decision to test a logged-in-only version of the site may impact users who rely on search to access Reddit content. Huffman said that some version of Reddit will be available before a hard login prompt, and that the company wants shared links to keep working. The test results will inform an optimized version of logged-in-only Reddit globally.
Looking ahead, Reddit will continue to report logged-in and logged-out daily uniques by geography, providing insight into the impact of the login tests. The company's fourth-quarter results will be closely watched, as the decline in search traffic may impact its daily active users and revenue growth.
Questions and answers
What is causing the decline in Reddit's search referral traffic?
Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman attributes the decline to Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, as well as machine-translated content being ranked lower.
How will Reddit's login tests impact users?
The tests will determine how much of Reddit users can see before being prompted to log in, including those arriving from search, and may impact users who rely on search to access Reddit content.
What is the potential impact on Reddit's daily active users and revenue growth?
The decline in search traffic may impact Reddit's daily active users in the fourth quarter, and the company's revenue growth may be affected by the decline in search referral traffic.
