As artificial intelligence (AI) continues revolutionizing online engagement, Reddit is now part of the companies using AI to improve user experience. The firm has rolled out the testing of Reddit Answers, which is a conversational AI feature that lets users ask questions and get summaries of responses and threads from other places around the site.
This new feature helps position Reddit as a competitor to existing AI providers like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Search, making engagement more interactive and streamlined for content consumers.
Reddit Answers: Making Conversational Summaries For You
According to Engadget, Reddit Answers makes finding particular answers easy to browse, rather than getting buried through so many threads or subreddits.
For any question asked, using Reddit Answers, the AI goes to multiple communities and collects relevant answers in a simple conversational summary. The presentation, thus, is closer to the user's typical interactions with AI-powered tools, such as ChatGPT or Perplexity—the rapid source of information pulled straight from the platform itself.
For instance, if a user asks, "What are some tips to achieve a sub-5km run?" Reddit Answers would produce a list of key advice from across the platform, aggregating insights from real users. In addition to the summary, users can explore the full conversations, dive deeper into specific threads, or ask follow-up questions to refine their search.
Competing with AI Giants: ChatGPT, Google, and Perplexity
Reddit's foray into the AI-powered conversation space is strategically designed to compete with other notable AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Although the former has exploited the rich database created by Reddit's user-generated content and assimilated it into their AI models to deliver quick answers to a user's query, Reddit Answers will ensure that its users remain within the Reddit ecosystem to gain easy access to information and also for discussion purposes.
This move also positions Reddit to challenge Google more directly. Many users already append the term "reddit" to their Google searches when seeking niche or community-driven answers, prompting Google to integrate Reddit content into its search results.
With Reddit Answers, users can now receive AI-curated answers without ever leaving the platform, ensuring they have access to relevant discussions without needing to navigate multiple threads.
How Reddit Answers Works
It allows the users to experience conversational AI as it aggregates data from threads and communities across Reddit. When a user submits a question, the system returns a summarized response with key points and a bulleted list of relevant information.
According to TechCrunch, the format is familiar to those who have used AI tools like ChatGPT for easy-to-read summaries of complex discussions.
Another great feature of Reddit Answers is real-time discussions. If users want to dig deeper, they can click on the links leading to the full threads on which the answer is based so they can dive into rich conversations. The feature also lets users refine their questions further by asking follow-up questions or getting a different perspective.
Advantages of Reddit's AI-Powered Feature
There are a few advantages of Reddit Answers for users who need to find information:
- Quick, Short Answers – With curated summaries, users get the information they need without scrolling through long threads.
- User-Generated Content – Unlike traditional search engines, Reddit Answers pulls from real conversations, offering insights from actual people, rather than relying solely on algorithmic responses.
- Engagement with the Community – Users can dive deeper into topics and continue their research by exploring full discussions.
- AI Integration – Driven by the proprietary AI technology developed in-house by Reddit, with OpenAI and Google Cloud integrations, Reddit Answers delivers a balanced, practical means for the retrieval of information.
There's Only One Caveat That You Can Ignore
The product is now live in the United States, only available in English, but to be introduced later to other regions and languages. The company continues to roll out this feature and is also exploring additional uses for AI, such as AI-powered search results, translation tools, and insights for brands.
