Reddit is going logged-in only. Blame Google AI Overviews.
Like publishers everywhere, Reddit is learning the hard lesson that Google giveth — and Google taketh away traffic.
Reddit has announced that it will be transitioning to a logged-in only experience, citing a decline in search traffic as one of the primary reasons. This move comes after Reddit's search traffic has dwindled as users increasingly turn to AI services for their queries. Despite the deal Reddit cut with Google in 2024 to license content for AI training, search traffic has dropped significantly, with Reddit experiencing a 1 million referral loss per week in October alone.
CEO Steve Huffman attributed this decline to Google's AI Overviews, stating that Google has shifted its relationship with the rest of the internet. The change is expected to make Reddit more lucrative for advertising, as 80% of its monetization comes from app users and logged-in users. However, some lament the loss of the open web, an area that Reddit has historically championed.
Written by urgent.news from Business Insider's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
