Reddit CEO fights AI “arms race” to protect human content

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says the platform is locked in an “arms race” to protect its human-generated content from artificial intelligence infiltration, as the company’s 20-year repository of authentic conversations becomes increasingly valuable for training AI models. The social network has already struck multimillion-dollar partnerships with Google and OpenAI to license its content, while advertisers are flocking to the platform in what one agency chief called a “massive migration” to capitalize on Reddit’s growing influence in AI-powered search results.

The big picture: Reddit’s authentic human conversations have become a critical resource for training large language models, positioning the platform as a unique defender of genuine online interaction in an increasingly AI-dominated internet landscape.

Key financial metrics: Reddit has transformed dramatically since Huffman’s return in 2015, growing from 12 million daily users and $15 million in revenue to over 100 million daily users and more than $1.3 billion in revenue.

• The company went public in March 2024 with a $6.4 billion valuation, which has since grown to $26 billion despite recent stock declines over concerns about Google’s AI Overviews potentially reducing search traffic.

The verification strategy: Reddit plans to implement strict human verification while preserving user anonymity, exploring partnerships with identity verification technologies.

• The platform is considering World ID, the eyeball-scanning technology from Sam Altman’s Worldcoin venture, to verify users without revealing their real names.
• “Human verification is top of mind for us right now. Over the rest of this year, we’ll be evolving that — it’s a need on the internet broadly,” Huffman said.

What they’re saying: Huffman emphasized Reddit’s commitment to maintaining its human-centric approach despite AI pressures.

• “Where the rest of the internet seems to be powered by or written by or summarised by AI, Reddit is distinctly human,” he said. “It’s the place you go when you want to hear from people, their lived experiences, their perspectives, their recommendations.”
• “For 20 years, we’ve been fighting people who have wanted to be popular on Reddit,” Huffman explained. “If you want to show up in the search engines, you try to do well on Reddit, and now the LLMs, it’s the same thing.”

Legal battles: Reddit is actively protecting its content through litigation, having sued AI startup Anthropic in San Francisco last month for allegedly scraping the platform more than 100,000 times since July 2024.

• Anthropic, an AI company backed by Amazon, responded: “We disagree with Reddit’s claims and will defend ourselves vigorously.”

Advertiser response: Marketing agencies report a significant shift toward Reddit as brands seek to appear in AI-generated search responses.

• Multiple advertising executives at the Cannes advertising festival told the Financial Times that brands are increasingly creating business accounts and posting content on Reddit to boost their visibility in generative AI chatbot responses.
• Reddit’s commercial appeal centers on its 100,000+ communities, where approximately 40% of conversations involve products or services, with 25% containing recommendations.

Platform improvements: Reddit is launching AI-powered tools for both advertisers and users while expanding globally.

• New advertising products provide real-time data on trending conversations and showcase positive user-generated content beneath ads.
• An AI-powered search feature offers verbatim quotes from communities, and new translation tools will extend the site to 13 languages, including Korean and Japanese.

Search ecosystem concerns: Despite worries about Google’s AI Overviews potentially reducing click-through traffic, Huffman remains optimistic about Reddit’s position.

• “The majority of our traffic comes directly to Reddit” rather than through Google, he noted, adding that search ecosystem volatility “opens the door for other players in search, including Reddit.”