Reddit starts testing ads inside its own search results.
Reddit has begun testing ads on its own search results pages, so brands can appear when people search the platform for products and advice. The test, announced on 3 November, is open to only a small number of advertisers for now.
Reddit says, as quoted by TechCrunch and Social Media Today, that the ads will be matched largely to what the person searched for. Someone looking up an espresso station might see ads for machines, beans or mugs; a home-office search might bring up monitors, desks and chairs. Reddit says the placements use its existing ad targeting, that search pages show high purchase and search intent, and that it will study how users respond before refining the format. Social Media Today reports the ads carry a small ad label.
The timing is telling. Reddit reported third-quarter results on 29 October, and TechCrunch notes its fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $1bn to $1.03bn came in below the roughly $1.05bn analysts expected. Global daily active users were flat on the quarter at 130.3m, while US daily users fell to 50.7m from 53.2m in the second quarter. Chief executive Steve Huffman said referrals from search engines dropped by more than 1m a week on average in October, which TechCrunch links to Google's AI-powered search. Reddit also plans to move gradually to a mostly logged-in experience, starting outside the US. Searching on Reddit itself has been growing: PPC Land, citing the company, puts it at more than 80m weekly searchers at the end of 2025.
Reddit has not said which advertisers are in the test, which countries or apps it covers, how ads are priced or bought, whether answers from Reddit Answers will carry ads, or when the test ends.
Our read: brands in Saudi Arabia and the UAE that already run Reddit campaigns should ask their account teams whether the test reaches the region. For categories where people research before buying, such as electronics, gaming and travel, a placement next to a question asked in the shopper's own words is a different proposition from feed ads.
Why it matters
Our read: search intent is the signal advertisers pay most for, and Reddit now wants to sell it directly as referrals from Google shrink.
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