Reddit Introduces ‘Reddit Answers’ for AI Summaries

Given Reddit’s collaboration with Google, this marks an intriguing enhancement for the platform.

On Monday, Reddit unveiled “Reddit Answers,” a feature akin to Google’s AI overviews but tailored specifically for Reddit.

As shown in this extended screenshot, Reddit Answers allows users to pose questions and receive AI-generated responses, drawing information from relevant subreddits.

As Reddit explains:

“With Reddit Answers, Redditors can ask questions and receive answers using a new, AI-powered conversational interface. Once a question is asked, curated summaries of relevant conversations and details across Reddit will appear, including links to related communities and posts. Redditors can easily read relevant snippets and answers inline from real Redditors, jump into the full conversations, and go deeper in their search with their own or suggested follow-up questions.”

This is essentially identical to Google’s AI Overviews, but specifically limited to Reddit. It’s hard to imagine Google being completely pleased with this, especially since Google has recently contributed significantly to a surge in Reddit’s traffic. This makes Reddit’s move feel like a bold, if not risky, decision.

That said, Reddit Answers will primarily cater to Reddit’s user base, which currently numbers fewer than 100 million. It’s unlikely to pose a threat to Google’s dominance in search. Meanwhile, Google still benefits from Reddit’s human-generated product insights through its data-sharing agreement.

So, Google might not be overly concerned either way. However, it’s a noteworthy addition that could make Reddit a more prominent hub for discovery among a wider audience.

Reddit has become a key data source in the current AI landscape because its forums host real humans sharing a wealth of practical, real-world insights, especially about their experiences with various products. This has caught the eye of AI developers seeking authentic human input to improve the quality and relevance of their generative AI responses.

In February of this year, Reddit entered into a data-sharing agreement with Google, which Google is now leveraging in various applications, including its Gemini chatbot.

With Reddit Answers, however, Reddit aims to deliver the same type of experience that other platforms offer using its data, but directly within Reddit itself.

This approach makes sense, but observing whether it influences how other platforms engage with Reddit regarding its data offerings will be intriguing.

Reddit states that Reddit Answers was initially introduced to a limited group of users in the U.S., with support currently available in English. Plans are in place to expand to more languages and regions (you can sign up for updates for your region here).

Source: Social Media Today

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