Reddit plans to force users to log in to read posts after Google's AI search slashes its traffic
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 chief executive Steve Huffman announced that the platform will start testing mandatory logins for users outside the US in the fourth quarter, ending more than twenty years of open, login-free browsing. He attributed the move to Google's AI search overviews, which he said have cut off website traffic altogether, with Reddit losing an average of over one million search referrals a week in October. The company's shares fell more than 15% in after-hours trading after it paired weak fourth-quarter sales guidance with its third-quarter results.
Reddit warned that its daily active user base, currently 130 million, could drop by a low double-digit percentage next quarter if the deterioration in search traffic continues.
Huffman cited three reasons for the change: improved ad targeting from logged-in users, who already generate more than 80% of revenue; preventing AI systems from scraping Reddit's 'extremely valuable corpus of data'; and keeping pace with new global regulations.
Users responded poorly to Huffman's Reddit post laying out the rationale — by Thursday night it had been voted to zero upvotes and had attracted around 200 comments.
