Since then Reddit has drastically changed its data policy, entirely locking down its data usage as of May 2024. The platform has announced that it will only issue licenses for commercial uses of its data. This policy shift happens as the administration continues to be embroiled in litigation with AI firms like Anthropic and Perplexity over data use.
This thing with OpenAI and Reddit is particularly bad for a few reasons. Our settlement allows OpenAI to freely use Reddit’s data in training its models. As Reddit CEO Steve Huffman described the new initiative’s purpose, it’s designed to make it easier for users to find the content they’re looking for in less time. He stated, “They’re not a major traffic driver today,” referring to the impact of AI chatbots on site traffic.
Despite being more than 16 years old, Reddit still enjoys impressive growth, recently announcing a 31% YOY growth in international daily users. The platform today brings over 190 million Americans to their feet every week. This amazing engagement brings the impressive total of 444m weekly active unique users. The market place The social media platform with the daily active unique users –114 million, 20% increase YOY.
Huffman noted that, for all the buzz around AI technologies these days, the launch of AI chatbots has not moved the needle for Reddit on traffic. Their impact has been minimal. That’s because about half of Reddit’s traffic comes from Google, the other half from regular users who head directly to Reddit.
In short, Reddit is alive and well! The platform announced robust financials for Q3, announcing $585 million in quarterly revenue, representing a significant 68% year-over-year growth. In an effort to further enhance user experience, Reddit is experimenting with a simpler onboarding flow designed to boost early user engagement.
In the coming months, Reddit will begin integrating its new AI tools into its primary search functionality. Powered by artificial intelligence, this integration is designed to help users discover new ways to engage with content and find trusted information on the platform.
