Reddit 將以登入要求保護數據，應對 Google AI 搜尋導流下滑

Since before the advent of AI-powered web search, Google has leaned heavily on Reddit in particular, often with mixed results, and this was, by-and-large, a mutually beneficial relationship, with Google's AI Overview driving traffic to the forum site. However, as of Reddit's latest Q3 2026 financial results, this arrangement appears to be changing. Following the release of the financial results, there was a Q&A session in which Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman explained that Reddit would be locking its data behind a login requirement in order to protect it from a changing web landscape.

Web search is evolving from a gateway to the web to becoming an AI-powered destination itself. While extraordinarily useful and powerful, AI search solves a different problem than Reddit. AI does not fulfill people's fundamental need for community, connection, and belonging with other people, and it lacks context and nuance... Logged in and app dial are our most valuable users, and they are our primary focus.

The Reddit experience captures the human experience in a way that no other platform can replicate. Only Reddit can help people navigate life's journey through the lens of other people's lived experiences. Only Reddit can help you feel both like a multifaceted, unique individual and a part of a greater whole, and do so without needing to reveal your real-world identity. That's why Reddit is, and always has been, a distinct and direct destination. People seek out Reddit because we meet a universal need they simply can't get anywhere else online. Our work now is about doubling down on what makes Reddit Reddit, and making Reddit more of a daily habit. We come into that work with clear advantages and revenue momentum in the business, and you can see that in the exceptional commercial results we delivered in the third quarter.

Huffman goes on to explain that Reddit has seen an average decline of over a million weekly referrals from search traffic, and he largely attributes this to Google's changing relationship with the web and how it handles search and referrals. Reddit's shift to a logged-in experience will start rolling out in the US, but the platform will also be testing to see if there is any value in a "lite" version of Reddit that does not require a login.

The biggest impact was on logged out and web traffic, but some of the impact flows through to logged in and app traffic, since search referral is a common source of re-engagement for users. The company helped to offset the declines by both driving reach, primarily through user marketing, and also by continuing to improve the product. These declines have continued into the early part of Q4. During October, we have seen that search traffic has dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week. If this rate of decline continues, current trends would suggest that total DAUq could fall in Q4 by a low double-digit percentage from our current base of 130 million DAUq. However, search referral trends do not determine our relevancy, and they do not define our future. Logged in and app dial are our most valuable users, and they are our primary focus.

Addressing a question about the driver behind the changes, Huffman explained Reddit's view of the repercussions of Google's push for AI Overviews:

Thanks, Josh. On the change from Google, our hypothesis is twofold. The biggest one is the AI Overviews or AI Mode. Both have evolved a lot, and particularly recently, they appear to be expanding them quite aggressively in the U.S. and outside. What started as a feature is now the full search experience, and at the minimum, it pushes everyone down the search page. Then on top of that, the experiences themselves are not traffic drivers. These things combined with the rollout just means Google has really shifted in their relationship with the rest of the internet. There is a second factor, which we believe our machine translation content is also being ranked lower. This primarily would affect us outside the U.S.