Reddit is piloting a new artificial intelligence (AI) search feature that blends community-driven recommendations with products from its shopping and advertising partners, marking a fresh step in its platform evolution.
The test is currently being rolled out to a limited group of users in the US. These users will see interactive product carousels appear within their search results. The carousels display product prices, images, and direct links that allow users to move straight to purchase pages.
The AI-powered search tool is designed to enhance the user experience by surfacing product suggestions directly from Reddit discussions. When users search for queries such as “best noise-cancelling headphones” or “electronic gift ideas for a college student,” a product carousel appears at the bottom of the search results.
These carousels highlight products that have been mentioned by users in relevant posts and comment threads, keeping community input at the core of the recommendations.
In a blog post, the company said the feature “gives redditors instant information about any product.” The goal of the test is to make navigation on Reddit easier while continuing to prioritise real user opinions.
“We’ll continue learning from how people use this new feature and refine the experience over time,” the company added.
The launch of the AI search tool aligns with Reddit’s wider plan to connect its community-based platform with e-commerce functions. This is not Reddit’s first move in this direction. In the previous year, the company introduced its first shoppable ad format, Dynamic Product Ads (DPA). These ads offer personalised product recommendations based on individual user interests.
Reddit’s leadership has highlighted the commercial potential of AI-driven search on the platform. CEO Steve Huffman recently pointed to the search feature as a significant business opportunity that could support both product expansion and revenue growth. He also shared that weekly active users using search increased by 30% over the last year, rising from 60 million to 80 million.
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