Reddit will force users to log in as AI is killing search traffic

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the company will shift to a logged-in-only experience, starting with tests in select markets outside the US, as search traffic has declined significantly. Huffman said AI search modes do not drive traffic and that logged-in access gives Reddit more ad-targeting signals, higher engagement, and protection for its data corpus. Reddit reported search referrals dropped by more than 1 million each week in October, and Huffman said the company is in active discussions about its Google licensing deal.