Reddit has begun testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature designed to enhance user experience by simplifying topic searches and information retrieval. This feature, known as Reddit Answers, was unveiled by the platform on Monday and is essentially a conversational chatbot that allows users to pose text-based queries and receive curated responses. Currently, Reddit Answers is being rolled out to a limited number of users in the United States, with plans for expansion to additional regions in the future.
Reddit Introduces AI-Powered Reddit Answers
A blog post on Reddit’s Upvoted platform provided insights into the functionality of Reddit Answers. The new tool is intended to offer users an innovative way to access information, recommendations, and discussions across diverse topics. In addition to its conversational capabilities, Reddit Answers functions as a search tool that can identify and highlight relevant posts for users.
The chatbot allows users to inquire about specific topics—for instance, questions like “How to build a DIY wooden table” will prompt the AI to search through the platform for pertinent posts. The generated response will synthesize information from various sources and present a comprehensive summary addressing the user’s query.
Furthermore, the responses generated by Reddit Answers will include links to associated communities and related posts. These will be displayed at the end of each summary in a boxed format, providing users with visibility into the number of upvotes and comments for each post, allowing them to determine which ones they may want to explore further.
Users also have the option to ask follow-up questions, enabling them to explore topics more deeply or refine the search results based on criteria such as date, region, or specific subreddits. Additionally, Reddit Answers may offer suggestions for follow-up inquiries if users are unsure about what to ask next.
In its blog post, Reddit remarked, “People know that Reddit has answers, advice, and perspectives on almost anything they’re looking for, and AI-powered search is part of our longer-term vision to improve the search experience on Reddit.”
