Tech

Reddit’s CEO says Google’s AI Mode ‘does not drive traffic’

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 29/10/2026, 22:31:25 UTC.

Briefings

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman stated during a Q3 2026 earnings call that Google's AI-powered search modes do not drive traffic to the platform. He attributed this decline to a fundamental shift in how Google operates, noting that search traffic in October dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week. Huffman explicitly confirmed that AI Mode does not drive traffic, distinguishing this from other websites and publishers facing similar issues.

Key points

• Reddit CEO Steve Huffman stated during a Q3 2026 earnings call that Google's AI-powered search modes do not drive traffic to the platform.
• Search traffic in October dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week, attributed to AI Mode changing the search experience.

Context

Reddit's Q3 2026 earnings call revealed declining search traffic, with CEO Steve Huffman attributing the drop to Google's AI Mode fundamentally altering search behavior, affecting Reddit and other publishers.

Limitations

Evidence is limited to Huffman's earnings call statement; specific traffic drop magnitude beyond 1 million referrals per week is confirmed; no causal analysis of AI Mode impact on Reddit's traffic is provided.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 29/10/2026, 22:58:56 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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