Reddit CEO Steve Huffman made it clear that AI chatbots don’t play a major role in driving traffic to the platform, even though companies like OpenAI and Google are seeing growth from people using AI for search. Speaking during Reddit’s Q3 2025 earnings call, Huffman emphasized that Google search and direct visits remain the main sources of traffic for Reddit.
He explained that while Reddit maintains good relationships with its AI partners, chatbots are not yet a meaningful contributor to the platform’s audience. Huffman said Reddit and its partner companies have learned a lot from working together, especially about the value of Reddit’s data and how each side can benefit from collaboration. Despite that progress, he stated clearly that chatbots do not currently bring significant traffic.
When an analyst asked if Reddit’s traffic split was roughly half from Google and half from direct visits, Huffman confirmed that the numbers were approximate but accurate enough to reflect the general picture.
Reddit’s history with AI companies has been complicated. In May 2024, the platform introduced a policy restricting access to its data and requiring licenses for any commercial use. Yet, Reddit also struck a deal with OpenAI that allows the company to use Reddit’s content for AI model training. It has another partnership agreement with Google, but not all of its interactions with AI firms have been smooth. Reddit has been in legal disputes with companies like Anthropic and Perplexity over data use.
Financially, Reddit had a strong third quarter, earning $585 million in revenue, a 68% increase from the previous year. The platform recorded 116 million daily active unique users and 444 million weekly active users, representing 20% year-over-year growth. International daily users also grew by 31%. In the U.S., more than 190 million people now visit Reddit weekly, showing how deeply the platform remains embedded in online culture.
Huffman said Reddit continues to invest heavily in improving its search experience, making it a central part of the platform. About 20% of all search activity now runs through Reddit’s AI-powered Answers feature and its main search box. He revealed that 75 million people searched Reddit weekly during Q3 and hinted at plans to fully merge AI and the core search system in the coming quarters.
The company is also testing a simpler onboarding process designed to help new users find content faster and feel more connected from their very first session. Huffman said the goal is to make newcomers immediately realize how much Reddit offers and to match them quickly with posts that fit their interests.
Through it all, Huffman maintained that while AI has its place, Reddit’s growth still depends on its community, user engagement, and content discovery, not chatbots.
