Reddit CEO questions Google AI Overviews' value as shares dip

Reddit's latest quarterly earnings call became more than a numbers update. CEO Steve Huffman used the occasion to question whether Google's AI Overviews are actually helping the online ecosystem. The feature, which generates automatic summaries for many search queries, has drawn criticism from publishers who say it reduces traffic to their sites.

In a letter to investors, Huffman portrayed Reddit as a counterweight to an increasingly automated web. He argued that while artificial intelligence condenses information into brief summaries, Reddit offers something different: discussions, debates and personal experiences. According to him, people do not want a summarized version of Reddit; they want the real thing.

Huffman added that the internet is becoming filled with synthetic content and that users now struggle to find context, opinions and first-hand accounts. He said people are overwhelmed by content that feels flat, polished, generated or sponsored, and that trust in online information is declining.

During the earnings call, the CEO said that the old model of "10 blue links" brought significant value and growth to the broader ecosystem. AI Overviews, in his view, has not yet reached that level of positive impact. He said businesses, publishers and retailers are still waiting for a situation where everyone benefits.

The remarks come at a sensitive time for Reddit's relationship with Google. The company has a licensing deal with Google worth $60 million, but reports say Reddit is considering ending it. The Wall Street Journal has also reported that other major publishers, including The Economist, Reuters, Politico and USA Today, are thinking about cutting their ties with Google.

Reddit has another artificial intelligence partnership, with OpenAI. Meanwhile, a Pew Research study from last year, based on data from 900 US adults, found that AI Overviews reduced referrals to sites such as Reddit by almost half when compared with the traditional "10 blue links" format. Observers note that Google had already moved away from simple blue links long before AI Overviews appeared. The company's shift to more complex search results began earlier, and the current debate is part of a broader struggle over how content is discovered online.