Reddit CEO hits out at Google as stocks tumble following launch of AI summaries
The CEO of Reddit has hit out at Google as stocks tumble following the launch of a new AI feature by the tech giant.
Steve Huffman, who heads up the social media platform Reddit, has spoken out in an interview about AI Overviews, the new AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of Google search results.
According to Huffman, the introduction of the new feature has not been ‘positive’ for Reddit in terms of search-driven traffic to the site.
The tech boss pointed out that search is ‘volatile’, adding that this isn’t the only change his firm has seen, as Reddit has ‘been through those many times’.
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He said: “What we see is, 10 blue links has driven tremendous value and growth to the broader ecosystem… from where we sit, AI Overviews has yet to make a similar level of positive impact, and I think that’s consistent across the broader landscape, right? As businesses, publishers, retailers, we're still looking for that win-win.”
Huffman continued: “As the internet becomes flooded with synthetic content, people are craving real human perspective. We are the antidote to an automated web. AI compresses the internet into summaries. Reddit delivers the opposite: deep discussions, passionate debates, and lived experiences. People don’t want a summary of Reddit; they want Reddit.”
Reddit’s shares dropped by over 20% after its most recent earnings report was released, despite its results exceeding what were predicted by the Wall Street Journal.
Reacting to this, Huffman said: “These deals aren’t binary. They have to make sense for Reddit, but there are many ways, I think, for the value to return to Reddit.”
He added: “Search referrals were choppy in the quarter, and traffic was more volatile later in the quarter. Our visibility on search continues to remain low, and we expect it to probably continue to be volatile.”
Earlier this year, the Reddit CEO responded to a user’s question about Google’s expansion of AI, with the person asking: “Google is pushing AI mode more now. How do u think this is going to affect the traffic coming from search results?”
In response, Huffman wrote: “Search trends and algorithms will always shift. But people specifically want Reddit, which is why one constant is that they continue to add “Reddit” to their Google queries - more than 250 times a second. That tells us they’re not just looking for answers, they’re looking for Reddit answers.”