Reddit wants to be your go-to search engine.
Google might be near synonymous with online search, but Reddit believes it can take a piece of that internet traffic pie.
“Reddit is one of the few platforms positioned to become a true search destination. We offer something special: a breadth of conversations and knowledge you can’t find anywhere else,” Reddit said in its Q2 report on Thursday. “Every week, hundreds of millions of people come to Reddit looking for advice, and we’re turning more of that intent into active users of Reddit’s native search.”
Reddit said its core search product has 70 million weekly users, while Reddit Answers — its AI-powered search tool — has reached 6 million.
During Reddit’s earnings call, CEO Steve Huffman said the company’s next step is to integrate the two search products into one.
“I think it’s really important that we start to merge those two,” Huffman told analysts. “You’ll probably hear us in the coming quarters talk less and less about Reddit Answers as a product, and more as a capability that we just layer into core search and integrate throughout the product.”
COO Jen Wong said the company wants to invest in marketing to remind people of Reddit’s search abilities, which could create new user behaviors.
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“I think we are on this journey of building a Reddit unique search experience,” Wong said.
Money-wise, Reddit said Q2 was its “most profitable quarter yet.” The company’s revenue grew 78% year over year to $500 million, its fastest quarterly growth rate since 2022. The company said its net income was $89 million.
Although Reddit launched two decades ago, the decision to go public in 2024 — with a $6.4 billion valuation — breathed new life into the social media platform. During its first 2024 earnings report, Reddit said daily active unique visits increased by 37%, while revenue jumped nearly 50% to $234 million.
That same year, Reddit entered a partnership with Google that allowed the search giant to train its AI models on Reddit’s content. In return, Reddit gained access to Vertex AI, Google’s machine learning platform, which has allowed Reddit to add enhanced search and other capabilities.
While the company has turned a profit over the last four quarters, some analysts are concerned that Reddit is overly reliant on Google for traffic, which they said could limit long-term value.
