Reddit is losing more than one million search referrals per week as its traffic from Google Search continues to decline. The company suspects Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are contributing to the drop by answering users’ queries directly in search results.
The development highlights a growing challenge for publishers and website owners: gaining visibility in search results does not always translate into website visits.
What Exactly Happened?
On October 29, 2026, Reddit reported its third-quarter financial results and discussed a decline in search-driven traffic. The company said search referrals declined meaningfully during Q3, with the decline accelerating toward the end of the quarter.
The issue continued into October, when Reddit recorded a further drop in weekly search referrals. CEO Steve Huffman discussed the decline during the company’s Q3 earnings call, pointing to changes in Google’s search experience as a possible explanation.
How Much Google Search Traffic Did Reddit Lose?
According to Huffman, Reddit received more than one million fewer search referrals per week on average during October. The company also reported that search traffic had declined meaningfully throughout Q3 2026.
The impact was particularly noticeable among logged-out visitors and people accessing Reddit through the web. However, Reddit did not disclose an exact percentage of referrals lost specifically from Google Search.
Despite this decline, Reddit’s official financial results reported 130.3 million daily active unique visitors in Q3, up 12% year over year.
What Reddit Says About the Decline
During the October 29 earnings call, Huffman identified Google’s AI-powered search features as the biggest suspected factor behind the decline.
He also pointed to a possible drop in rankings for Reddit’s machine-translated content, particularly in markets outside the US. The company believes changes in how Google handles translated pages could be affecting its international search visibility.
Are Google AI Overviews & AI Mode the Reason?
Huffman said Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are changing how users interact with search results. These features provide AI-generated answers before traditional organic listings, potentially reducing the need to visit external websites.
During the earnings call, he stated: “The reality is the AI Mode does not drive traffic. Not for us, and not to anybody as far as I know.“
However, Reddit has not established AI search as the sole cause. Its management also identified machine-translated content and potential ranking changes as contributing factors.
What Should Publishers & SEOs Do?
Reddit’s experience highlights the risks of depending heavily on Google Search for website traffic. Publishers need to strengthen other traffic sources and give users compelling reasons to visit their websites, even when AI-generated answers appear in search results.
- Build direct audiences: Encourage visitors to subscribe to newsletters, create accounts, or follow your brand on social platforms instead of relying entirely on Google referrals.
- Increase branded searches: Publish original research, expert opinions, and recognizable resources that encourage users to search for your brand directly.
- Improve international content: Review translated pages for accuracy, search intent, and localization. Avoid relying on automated translations without human review.
- Make content worth clicking: Go beyond answers that AI can easily summarize. Include first-hand experiences, detailed comparisons, original data, and practical examples that give users a reason to visit your website.
What’s Next for Reddit?
Reddit plans to test a primarily logged-in experience in selected markets outside the US during Q4 2026. The company wants to encourage more visitors to use its app and logged-in services.
Huffman noted that app and logged-in daily active users account for more than 80% of Reddit’s monetization. The test will help the company evaluate how this approach affects its users, business, and wider platform ecosystem.
