Reddit bets on AI search as weekly users hit 80 million and AI answers explode

If you’ve ever gone to Reddit for answers instead of just memes, you’re not alone and the company is making a big bet that others will too. Reddit says its AI-powered search, Reddit Answers, could become a major driver for growth and revenue by merging traditional search with generative AI to handle questions that don’t have one clear answer.

CEO Steve Huffman explained that while traditional search is mainly about navigation, AI search excels at “questions that have no answers, where the answer actually is multiple perspectives from lots of people.” That is the sweet spot Reddit is aiming for.

The numbers are eye-catching. Weekly active users for search jumped 30 percent in the past year, from 60 million to 80 million. Reddit Answers grew from 1 million weekly users in the first quarter of 2025 to 15 million by the fourth quarter. The company is also improving the AI interface to include richer media and dynamic responses and has already begun piloting new designs.

Reddit is also rethinking how it presents the site. Starting in the third quarter of 2026, it will remove the distinction between logged-in and logged-out users, using AI and machine learning to personalize the experience for everyone who lands on the platform.

On the business side, Reddit’s content licensing, which lets other companies train AI on its data, is growing. That “other” revenue rose 8 percent year-over-year to $36 million in the fourth quarter and 22 percent for the full year to $140 million.

Reddit wants to be more than a social site. It is positioning itself as a hub for AI-powered answers, a place where users come for insights and where the company can monetize both attention and data. With user growth accelerating and AI features expanding, Reddit could soon be a serious player in the generative AI search race.