Reddit will make users log in as AI search cuts its Google traffic

Reddit said Thursday it will move to a "primarily logged-in experience," starting with tests in some markets outside the US this quarter, to protect its data from AI scrapers and support its licensing deals with model makers. Chief executive Steve Huffman said Google referrals were "down meaningfully in this quarter" because of AI Mode and AI Overviews; search referrals fell by more than a million a week on average in October.

Third-quarter revenue rose 53% to $895 million, and US daily users fell to 50.7 million from 53.2 million. Reddit guided fourth-quarter revenue to $1.0 billion to $1.03 billion, below the roughly $1.05 billion expected, and warned daily users could fall by a low-double-digit percentage. One of the open web's largest sources of training data is putting up a wall, three days after Google admitted AI Mode earns less than the search it replaces. SourcesA B

Sources

AReddit Q3 2026 earnings release (SEC)sec.gov
BAs search traffic dries up, Reddit announces it's shifting to a logged-in experience (TechCrunch)techcrunch.com

This story ran in the Morning Brief of October 30th 2026.

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