Reddit has taken steps to block major search engines and AI bots from accessing its content unless they pay for the privilege. Google is now the only mainstream search engine that can display recent Reddit posts and comments when using the “site:reddit.com” search trick. Other search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo are excluded.
Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt stated that this decision is not related to the company’s recent partnership with Google. He explained that Reddit has been in discussions with multiple search engines but could not reach agreements with all of them. Some search engines were unable or unwilling to make enforceable promises regarding their use of Reddit content, particularly for AI purposes.
Reddit restricts search engine access
Over the past year, Reddit has been working to protect its data and open up another revenue stream. The company has made its API more expensive for some third-party developers and reportedly required some companies to stop using its platform’s data to train AI for free.
In June, Reddit updated its site policy to specify which web crawlers could access the site. Ben Lee, Reddit’s chief legal officer, said, “It’s a signal to those who don’t have an agreement with us that they shouldn’t be accessing Reddit data.”
As AI chatbots become more common, finding content written by humans has become increasingly valuable for internet users. Many people have started adding “Reddit” to their search queries to get human-generated answers.
However, with the new restrictions, these detailed, user-generated answers will only be available through Google or search engines that use Google’s data. Reddit has added a statement regarding its new policy, emphasizing the importance of protecting its content and ensuring proper use by search engines and AI systems.
