Reddit lost more than a million search referrals per week in October, according to CEO Steve Huffman. Despite strong financial results, Reddit's stock fell by more than 25%. The Decoder reports.
Huffman links the drop in search traffic to Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, saying they do not direct users to external sites. Reddit is testing access restrictions for users without accounts and aims to be a more self-contained destination.
For media companies and other businesses dependent on search traffic, this could mean greater reliance on their own audience acquisition channels. Available materials do not yet confirm the scale of the effect beyond Reddit and lack independent verification of the executive's statements.
editorial commentary
Why it matters
Possible consequence — accelerated shift of content companies toward direct relationships with their audience and their own distribution channels. The next observable signal will be new data on Reddit's search referrals and the reaction of other search-dependent platforms. Substantial uncertainty remains: only The Decoder summary is available without primary materials and independent verification.