Reddit is making a major push to become a "go-to search engine," aiming to capitalize on its trove of human-generated content and combat traffic "headwinds" from Google's AI-driven changes. The company announced the strategy alongside a strong Q2 earnings report, declaring its ambition to become a primary destination for users seeking authentic answers.

The Reddit modifier: The plan formalizes a long-standing user habit: tacking "Reddit" onto Google queries to cut through the algorithmic noise and get answers from actual people. After CEO Steve Huffman noted that referral traffic from Google is declining, the company is now moving to capture that search intent directly on its own platform.

Uniting the streams: The core of the strategy is to merge its two search products. The traditional search function already serves 70 million weekly users, while its AI-powered tool, Reddit Answers, has surged to 6 million weekly users from just one million last quarter. Huffman said Reddit will combine them into a single experience and redesign its app to put the search bar "front and center."

Playing both sides: The pivot highlights Reddit's unique position in the generative AI era. While it cashes in by licensing its content to players like Google and OpenAI—a business that brought in $35 million last quarter—it's also racing to build its own products that leverage the same data, effectively competing with its own customers.

The bottom line: In a web increasingly flooded with AI-generated content, Reddit is betting that its greatest asset is the authenticity of its human conversations, transforming a user-developed hack into a core business strategy.

Reading Recap:

• Read Reddit's full strategic announcement

• How Reddit plans to unify its search

• A deeper look at the AI search landscape

• Why human content is Reddit's edge

Also on our radar: Reddit isn't the only platform eyeing Google's throne, as Meta is also developing an AI-powered search engine. The push for an authentic, human-powered alternative comes as Reddit itself is ramping up its fight against AI spam on its platform. Meanwhile, a major driver for this strategic shift is the growing reality that Google's new AI tools are siphoning traffic away from publishers, forcing platforms to build their own destinations.