Reddit CEO says Google AI modes do not drive traffic
Steve Huffman reports referral traffic dropped by over 1 million weekly in October 2026, as Reddit plans to require user logins.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Reddit's search referral traffic from Google dropped by over 1 million visits per week in October 2026.
- CEO Steve Huffman states that Google's AI-powered search features fail to drive traffic to platforms.
- Reddit is responding by introducing a For You feed and enforcing a mandatory login requirement.
During an earnings call for the third quarter of 2026, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman revealed that Google’s AI-powered search modes do not assist in generating traffic for the platform, echoing a widespread challenge currently affecting numerous websites and publishers across the web.
As part of its Q3 financial disclosure, Reddit reported that search referral traffic throughout October experienced a steep decline, dropping by more than 1 million referrals on average per week. Huffman attributes these ongoing referral struggles directly to how AI Mode and AI Overviews have altered the conventional search engine experience.
Huffman elaborated that these AI features have evolved significantly to push external websites further down the search results page. Furthermore, Reddit suspects that its machine-translated content in languages other than English is receiving lower search rankings, a factor expected to predominantly impact the platform outside the United States.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
"The reality is, AI Mode does not drive traffic. Not for us, and not to anybody, as far as I know. That’s just a fundamental shift in how Google works."
Steve Huffman
Despite the drop in referral numbers, Huffman emphasized that Reddit remains a top search term on Google, proving that consumer demand for the platform has not waned. He noted that Google continues to crawl the site as aggressively as ever, indicating that the fundamental demand remains strong even if the referral mechanism has changed.
Context and Analysis: This disclosure highlights the growing friction between content platforms and search engines in the generative AI era. As Google transitions from an aggregator that routes users to external sites toward a destination that answers queries directly on the search results page, publishers and communities are forced to shift toward direct engagement models to secure sustainable traffic.
To combat these referral difficulties, Reddit is actively working to establish itself as a direct, daily destination for users. Recently, the platform introduced a For You interest-based recommendation feed, following an August experiment that utilized artificial intelligence to convert text posts into short-form videos.
Additionally, Reddit announced that it will implement a mandatory login requirement for all visitors. Huffman asserted that this policy will improve the overall user experience, benefit the advertising business, align more closely with modern safety regulations, and provide stronger protection for proprietary platform data.
Source: The Verge
Found something wrong in this article? Report an issue with this article
Comments
Leave a Comment