Presently, Reddit stands as the paramount search result repository for AI, dethroning Google in June 2025. According to Statista, Reddit accounted for 40.1% of citations in AI-related searches. Coming in second was Wikipedia at 26.3%, followed by 23.5% for YouTube. The respected Google was a close fourth at 23.3%.
The shift suggests a change in the way large language models (LLMs) value and find content. Instead of static web pages, AI systems now depend increasingly on dynamic conversations hosted on Reddit. People engage freely in open discussions where they share genuine advice, situations, and collective knowledge. The conversational approach is something AI models are trained upon, hence giving Reddit quite an upper hand.
Reddit is reshaping the search landscape
The rise of the internet cult is a testament to how user-generated conversation is changing search relevance. Cryptic answers neither enhance nor promote the quality of an answer. In direct contrast, Reddit, Google with its often unmoderated, raw discussions, is a goldmine for LLMs because the data mirrors actual human expression.
With June 2025 data, Statista seals the deal on the rise of influence for Reddit. Its prominence reflects shifting trust from traditional repositories to community-driven platforms.
While Wikipedia remains strong as well, its format is far more structured. This organic flow of content continues to truly attract both users and developers of AI.
This also changes public trust. Where once Googling was the unquestioned source, Reddit has come to be seen by users as the place for real answers. For AI, the focus is on variety and context-an area in which Reddit does well.
Reddit: Reshaping the future
Is Reddit creating its own search engine?
Yes. In doing so, Reddit is building on the momentum to launch a search engine of its own to compete with Google. The Google AI-powered Reddit Answers feature has caught on rapidly; from a user base of one million just a few months ago it is now serving over 70 million weekly.
A dedicated search engine is said to be launched by late 2025 or early 2026. Reddit thus has new found status: from being a discussion platform, it is now a direct competitor in a search market worth hundreds of billions globally.
Reddit Answers serves to provide answers leveraging community knowledge and then to refine that knowledge through AI tools. It is faster surely, and contextualises answers that compete with traditional search results-which through Google AI innovation and human insight, Reddit is shaping into something different.
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Reddit is reworking its app around search
There is a similar restructuring of the Reddit app with focus on search, which places a unified search bar and Reddit Answers tool at the centre of the mobile and desktop versions. This is a strategic change in user experience.
Huffman stressed that conversation is integral to search. Many users put “reddit” into c search with questions for truthful answers. Now, Reddit wants to internalise this behaviour. By keeping its users inside the Reddit world, Reddit grows engagement and advertiser reach.
The redesign explicitly strains against the slow advance of search as interaction. By fusing AI with human conversation, Reddit is trying to serve both the occasional browser and the intense researcher. This adds to its advantage in the evolving AI-search race.
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What are the commercial implications?
With the new AI feature, Reddit has been making a stronger commercial outlook. Revenues are up 78% in Q2 2025, hitting close to US $500 million year on year. Ads have made up 84% of the earning, while the licensing deals with AI companies make up 7%.
User growth is still strong with daily active users in the US increasing to be 50.3 million.
Globally, its population of users continues to increase from the growing prominence of Reddit Answers. According to quarterly results, the price of Reddit’s shares went up by 24% as a sign of investors-resonating confidence.
For Google, the same trend has different implications. While it used to remain the key player on the internet-side of searches, dependence of AI on Reddit undermines such a dominion. If their efforts in building their own engine pay off, then the competition would be further invigorated.
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Reddit is shaping the future of AI search
The advent of Reddit is indeed another turning point in the search ecosystem. While dependent on Google, AI models share more and more of their credit with community platforms. This transition highlights the thirst for genuine information and human insights in the process of gathering data.
The changes have their share of implication in search as well. Meanwhile, by licensing its data to AI companies, Reddit can generate new revenue streams. Being integrated into LLM training means another bid on the key future domain. Meanwhile, through its search engine attempt, it is still playing the big-boy-challenger role.
Granted, Google’s role is far from over-its dominance, however, is under heavy review. AI developers and common users alike can recognise the value that conversations on Reddit bring. The future of search may no longer be decided by algorithms alone but by how AI harnesses human dialogue.
