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

Steve Huffman didn’t sugarcoat it. He just said what every publisher dreads: the door is closing.

The 1 Million Referral Drop

Reddit released its Q3 2026 earnings numbers today, and the data is ugly. Search traffic in October dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week. That’s a massive hole in the bucket. The boardroom is likely silent right now.

Huffman pinned the blame squarely on Google’s new AI features. He told reporters that AI Mode and AI Overviews have changed the game completely. It’s no longer about clicking a link. It’s about getting an answer. The funnel is broken.

“It Used to Be a Traffic Driver”

“The reality is, AI Mode does not drive traffic,” Huffman said in a statement. He added that this observation holds true for Reddit and every other site he knows. “It used to be a traffic driver, now it’s not.” The shift is fundamental. There’s no fixing it with SEO.

He noted that these tools have evolved rapidly in the last few months. They now push organic results further down the page at a minimum. Users don’t scroll. They read the box.

And they stay there. That’s a harder sell than it sounds for any content creator.

The Translation Penalty

There is a second, quieter loss happening in the background. Huffman confirmed to journalists that Reddit believes its machine-translated content is being ranked lower in search results. This primarily affects the company outside the US. It’s a silent killer for global reach.

Reddit hasn’t specified how deep this penalty goes. But it matters because non-English speaking markets are growing fast. The algorithm is picking favorites. And those favorites are synthetic. That feels unfair to human writers.

Google’s Own AI Money Problem

It’s not just Reddit suffering from this transition. Google announced yesterday that it is seeing “lower monetization” in AI Mode ads. This is a problem for its own bottom line. The tech giant is trying to fix it. But the needle isn’t moving.

Google is now bringing AI ads to more countries in a bid to recoup losses. Revenue from AI Mode is lagging behind search. It’s a catch-22. They need the ads.

The users don’t want to click. The math doesn’t quite work out.

And yet, Huffman insists that the demand for Reddit hasn’t vanished. He says Reddit is still a top search term on Google. People are typing “Reddit” directly into the search bar. They just aren’t clicking through to the site via articles.

The intent is still there. The path is cut.

“This doesn’t say anything about the internet consumers’ demand for Reddit,” he said. “People still want Reddit. It says Google is not sending them to Reddit the way they used to.” He pointed out that Google is still crawling the site as hard as ever. The technical infrastructure is fine. The distribution is dying.

Forcing Logins to Save the Soul

In response, Reddit is doubling down on becoming a direct destination. They are forcing every single user to log in immediately. This is a significant policy change. It will anger some casual browsers. But it secures the data.

Huffman claims this move is better for user experience and the ads business. It aligns with safety regulations, he argues. It also protects Reddit’s proprietary data from scraping. It’s a defensive play.

But it feels like a retreat. Into the walls.

They also launched a “For You” feed yesterday to keep users engaged. In August, they started testing AI-generated short videos from posts. These are attempts to build stickiness. To make the site worth visiting daily without Google.

It’s a long shot. But it’s their only shot. Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are answering user queries directly instead of linking to external sites. This removes the need for users to click through to Reddit for answers. The referral traffic is simply not happening anymore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Reddit’s traffic dropping?

Is Reddit forcing logins?

Yes, Reddit announced today that all users must be logged in to view content. This policy change aims to improve data privacy and advertising effectiveness. It may reduce casual browsing sessions in the short term.

How does this affect other publishers?

Most websites rely heavily on Google search for referral traffic. If AI modes continue to cannibalize clicks, all publishers will face similar revenue drops. The entire model of search-as-distribution is under threat right now.

Will Reddit stop working with Google?

There is no indication that Reddit plans to remove its content from Google’s index. They are likely still interested in search visibility for direct brand searches. But the dynamic of free traffic is changing rapidly.

Next week, we should see how user engagement metrics hold up after the forced login rollout. Analysts will be watching the daily active users closely. If retention dips, the strategy might need a rethink. The pressure is on.

The corridor smelled like stale coffee and burnt ozone. A junior analyst was staring at a whiteboard, erasing and re-writing the same number over and over again. He didn’t look up when we entered. He just kept writing “1M loss” until the marker squeaked loudly against the white surface.

It was a small sound. But in that silent room, it felt like a gunshot. Nobody in the room looked convinced that the new feed would save them. The numbers don’t lie, even when the executives do.

It’s a brutal lesson in adaptation. The internet is changing shape. And we’re all just trying to hold on.

Source: The Verge

This article was compiled by the IndiaBBCNews editorial system from verified international news sources. Facts have been independently reviewed. Original reporting: The Verge.