Lately, I’ve noticed some interesting shifts in how ChatGPT pulls information, and one of the biggest changes is that it’s referencing Reddit less than before.
Not too long ago, Reddit was one of the most cited sources for AI responses. At its peak back in September, Reddit showed up in more than 14% of ChatGPT’s answers. Fast-forward to early October, and that number had dropped to just 2%. That’s a massive decline in a very short time.
Why This Is Surprising
For me, this is surprising because Reddit has always been a kind of “people’s search engine.” Before the AI boom, a lot of us would go straight to Google and type things like “how to train your dog Reddit” or “best laptops Reddit” to get unfiltered opinions from real people, not just polished marketing pages. That kind of content was valuable for everyday questions where consensus mattered more than expert opinion.
The Impact on Reddit’s Business
Now, though, Bloomberg Intelligence and other analysts are pointing out that Reddit’s exposure is slipping. That’s a red flag for investors, because Reddit’s business is tied heavily to visibility in search engines and AI models.
If platforms like Google or OpenAI reduce how often they surface Reddit content, it can hit Reddit’s traffic and ad revenue hard. And sure enough, Reddit’s stock has taken a hit recently — down more than 11% in a single day and nearly 14% over just five days.
Reddit’s Response to AI Changes
What makes this even more interesting is that Reddit hasn’t been sitting still. They’ve been launching their own AI tools, including new ad features, and they’ve been in talks to strike deals with big AI players like Google or OpenAI. The goal seems clear: stay relevant as search evolves.
But in the meantime, seeing ChatGPT cite Reddit less often makes me wonder how stable Reddit’s role really is in the AI ecosystem.
The Bigger Question: What Counts as a “Good Source”?
There’s also a bigger question here: how does AI decide what counts as a “good source”? Reddit is full of user opinions, anecdotes, and collective wisdom. That’s different from something like Wikipedia, which is more formal but not always as practical.
If AI systems decide Reddit isn’t trustworthy enough to surface, that could reshape how people get crowd-sourced knowledge online.
Why This Matters for the Future of Search
So, the way I see it, this isn’t just about one site losing some citations. It’s about the future of where AI gets its information, and how those choices can ripple out into traffic, ad revenue, and even stock performance.
As AI becomes the main way people search for answers, the sources it chooses — or leaves behind — could end up shaping the internet as much as Google once did.