Reddit is to force users to log in after Google's AI search cuts traffic by a million visits a week
Reddit's move to require sign-ins is designed to rebuild direct audience relationships as AI erodes the referral traffic the platform had relied on to reach new users.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has warned that Google's AI search mode has fundamentally stopped channelling users to external sites, stripping Reddit of more than one million referrals a week in October alone. Mandatory log-ins are to be trialled in certain non-US markets during the fourth quarter, with logged-out visitors eventually confronted by a hard prompt requiring an account. Reddit shares tumbled more than 15% following the earnings call, even though third-quarter revenue of $895m came in ahead of analyst estimates.
Huffman noted that logged-in users already generate more than 80% of Reddit's ad revenue, and that compulsory sign-ins will hand the company richer data for targeting purposes.
Reddit cautioned that a continued slide in search-driven traffic could pull daily active unique visitors down by a low double-digit percentage in Q4 against its current base of 130 million.
The announcement went down badly: by Thursday night, Huffman's explanatory post had been voted to zero upvotes and attracted around 200 comments.
