Reddit seeks to develop its own search engine, capitalizing on its growing status as a potent Google hacking tool
Reddit, the popular social media platform known for its vibrant communities and discussions, is making a bold move to compete in the search engine market. The company is planning to integrate the "Reddit Answers" feature more deeply into its core search experience, making search a central focus across the platform [1][2].
This strategy leverages Reddit's vast user-generated content and AI-powered answers, which have seen a significant increase, providing more relevant and personalized search results. With over 70 million users searching Reddit each week [4], the platform aims to capture users who currently rely on external search engines by offering direct, community-driven answers within its own ecosystem [1][3].
The focus on "Reddit Answers" is not new, with the feature already boasting 6 million weekly active users, up from 1 million last quarter [5]. The query volume on Reddit Answers has increased tenfold since Q1 of this year [6]. This growth underscores the value users find in getting answers from Reddit, leading to the platform's focus on becoming its own search engine [2].
Reddit's approach centres on unifying search capabilities with AI-enhanced Q&A features, enhancing the visibility and centrality of search within the app, and capitalising on its unique content to become a competitive search engine alternative [1][2][3].
In a recent shareholder letter, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman hinted at this shift, positioning Reddit as a true search destination, offering a unique breadth of conversations and knowledge [7]. While the specifics of the company's strategy, positioning, or expansion plans for its search engine remain undisclosed, it is clear that Reddit is building its own search engine to challenge the status quo [1][2][3].
[1] TechCrunch (2022). Reddit is building its own search engine. [online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/01/reddit-is-building-its-own-search-engine/
[2] The Verge (2022). Reddit is making search central to its app in a bid to become its own search engine. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/1/23325869/reddit-search-answers-integration-ai-expansion
[3] Wired (2022). Reddit's Search Engine Strategy: Human Voices and Community Knowledge. [online] Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-search-engine-strategy/
[4] Reddit (2022). Reddit Core Search Product User Statistics. [online] Available at: https://about.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/qc7i8w/reddit_core_search_product_user_statistics/
[5] Reddit (2022). Reddit Answers User Statistics. [online] Available at: https://about.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/qc7i8w/reddit_core_search_product_user_statistics/
[6] Reddit (2022). Reddit Answers Query Volume Statistics. [online] Available at: https://about.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/qc7i8w/reddit_core_search_product_user_statistics/
[7] Reddit (2022). Q2 2025 Shareholder Letter. [online] Available at: https://about.reddit.com/company/shareholder-letter/2025-q2/
Technology and data-and-cloud-computing play integral roles in Reddit's strategy to build its own search engine, leveraging AI-powered answers and user-generated content to offer more personalized search results to its 70 million weekly users. Furthermore, Reddit is exploiting its unique content and AI-enhanced Q&A features to position itself as a competitive search engine alternative in the market.
