- Reddit recently launched Reddit Answers.
- It's a new AI-powered search experience for the platform.
- Reddit Answers is rolling out to a limited number of users.
Ever since Google was deemed an illegal monopolist, competition in the search landscape has seemingly gotten stiffer. A former Google engineer warned that the company would have bigger fish to fry with competitors like OpenAI's temporary prototype search tool SearchGPT.
The engineer further indicated that Google should be more focused on emerging competition than monopolistic ruling coupled with the pending regulation from the US antitrust watchdogs.
Now, Google may have more competition to deal with in the search landscape following Reddit's launch of a new AI-powered search tool. Reddit Answers is designed to make it easier for users to find information on the social networking platform.
Like other AI-powered products like Copilot, Google's AI Overviews, and more, Reddit Answers will generate detailed and curated responses to queries alongside links to the source. However, unlike other products that use cross-platform sources, Reddit Answers will link back to Reddit's communities and posts as its source.
Reddit Answers is rolling out to a limited number of users in English in the US. The company plans to roll out the tool to more regions and in more languages in the future. It can already be accessed on the web and iOS as the company continues to work on the Android version.
According to Reddit:
“People know that Reddit has answers, advice, and perspectives on almost anything they're looking for, and AI-powered search is part of our longer-term vision to improve the search experience on Reddit – making it faster, smarter, and more relevant.”
The Verge's Jay Peters had the opportunity to try out Reddit's new AI-powered experience and detailed it as follows:
"There’s a big box to ask a query, but the initial Reddit Answers page also floats a bunch of suggested searches you can click on, like “favorite Nintendo character of all time,” “best mystery novels of 2025,” and “tips for flying with a baby for the first time.
I clicked that last one, and the tool quickly pulled together a list and some bulleted suggestions with hyperlinks on the text and an arrow to click to see the source of the information. When you click either, a sidebar pops up showing the exact post where the information comes from."
Google's AI Overviews stacks miles behind in comparison
Google offers an iteration of Reddit's AI-powered answers feature. Google's AI Overview feature has received backlash since it was launched. It started when the tool bizarrely recommended eating rocks, glue, and potentially even committing suicide, despite acquiring exclusive rights to Reddit content to power its AI.
The company quickly addressed the issue by implementing several policies, including triggering restrictions for queries where AI Overviews were deemed unhelpful. Google shifted the blame for the bizarre incident to a 'data void' of contextual topics coupled with faked screenshots.
Despite Google's blatant attempt to address the AI feature's issues, it was spotted making an erroneous mistake in October. It listed a game developer's personal phone number as the main contact for a studio he hasn't worked at for over eight years. The error led to the developer receiving an irate phone call from a parent complaining about content in a game their child plays that he worked on.
Reddit's new AI-powered feature isn't Google's only problem. In November, OpenAI launched ChatGPT search to compete with Google by providing fast, clear, and direct answers to queries featuring relevant web sources. Before its launch, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman indicated there's room to make search better than it is. Following its release, users have started branding the AI-powered search engine as "Google's killer."
