Reddit plans to unify its search interface as it looks to become a search engine

With search today so full of AI slop and sites spamming SEO tricks, it’s not unusual for people to append “reddit” to their queries in hopes of finding useful answers to their questions. Google has tried to integrate results from Reddit in its search interface, and taking notice of the trend, Reddit has been experimenting with its own AI search as well. But the company has loftier ambitions: It wants to become the go-to search engine people use.

Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman said as much during its second-quarter conference call on Thursday: “Reddit is one of the few platforms positioned to become a true search destination. We offer something special, a breadth of conversations and knowledge you can’t find anywhere else.”

Huffman noted that Reddit’s search function has more than 70 million weekly users, and its AI-powered Q&A product, Reddit Answers, is now used by 6 million people.

Reddit Answers is currently available in a dozen countries, and the company plans to expand it globally, as well as give it prominent placement in the site’s interface. The company eventually wants to unify the core search function with Reddit Answers, and redesign its app to have the search box be more prominently visible.

“We’re unifying those [Reddit search and Reddit Answers] into a single search experience, and we’re gonna bring that front and center in the app. So, whether you’re a new user opening the app for the first time or a returning user opening the app, that search box will be present immediately,” Huffman said on the call.

People are increasingly being presented chat-styled search interfaces from products like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s new AI mode. Reddit understandably believes that tapping its rich trove of user posts and comments to help people find answers will help make its search function more useful.

Reddit reported a positive second quarter, with revenue jumping 78% to $500 million from a year earlier. The company launched two new ad tools, which let marketers use Reddit data to spot trends and leverage comments about brands in their campaigns.