Reddit CEO Huffman Says Google AI Mode Does Not Drive Traffic to Any Website
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said that Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode do not bring traffic to any website, and that Reddit lost more than one million Google search referrals per week in October as a result, with its stock falling more than 25% despite strong financial results. Reddit says platform demand is unchanged and that Google simply no longer sends traffic to it; it is currently testing a login wall outside the United States to reduce scraping and dependence on the open web, and data licensing negotiations with AI vendors are still ongoing.
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Reddit loses over a million search referrals per week due to Google AI Mode, and the CEO's assessment offers a structural risk sample for websites that depend on search traffic.
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AI Mode has tanked not just Google's stock but Reddit's too. Shares dropped over 25 percent despite strong earnings, after CEO Steve Huffman revealed that Reddit lost more than one million Google search referrals per week in October. He blames AI Overviews and AI Mode: "AI Mode does not drive traffic. Not for us, and not to anybody as far as I know. That's just a fundamental shift in how Google works," Huffman said.
Reddit says demand for the platform hasn't changed, but Google simply stopped sending users there. In response, it's testing login walls outside the U.S. to curb scraping and reduce its dependence on the open web. Huffman sees it as a trade-off: less reach for deeper engagement. Data licensing talks with AI providers continue, though it's not certain that Reddit, which already had a deal with Google and massively profited from it , will close further ones.
What's hitting Reddit is a warning for the entire web . Any business that depends on Google for traffic faces the same structural risk.