SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥 Reddit has struck a deal with Google that allows the search giant to use posts from the online discussion site for training its artificial intelligence models and to improve services such as Google Search.
The arrangement, announced Thursday and valued at roughly $60 million, will also give Reddit access to Google AI models for improving its internal site search and other features. Reddit declined to comment or answer questions beyond .
Separately, the San Francisco-based company announced plans for its initial public offering Wednesday. In , Reddit said it reported net income of $18.5 million 鈥 its first profit in two years 鈥 in the October-December quarter on revenue of $249.8 million. The company said it aims to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RDDT.
The Google deal is a big step for Reddit, which relies on volunteer moderators to run its sprawling array of freewheeling topic-based discussions. Those moderators have publicly protested earlier Reddit decisions, most recently blacking out much of the site for days when Reddit announced plans to for access to its content.
The arrangement with Google doesn't presage any sort of data-driven changes to how Reddit functions, according to an individual familiar with the matter. This person requested anonymity in order to speak freely during the SEC-enforced 鈥渜uiet period鈥 that precedes an IPO. Unlike social media sites such as TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, Reddit does not use algorithmic processes that try to guess what users will be most interested in seeing next. Instead, users simply search for the discussion forums they're interested in and can then dive into ongoing conversations or start new ones.
The individual also noted that the agreement requires Google to comply with Reddit's user terms and privacy policy, which also differ in some ways from other social media. For instance, when Reddit users delete their posts or other content, the site deletes it everywhere, with no ghostly remnants lingering in unexpected locations. Reddit partners such as Google are required to do likewise in order 鈥渢o respect the choices that users make on Reddit,鈥 the individual said.
The data-sharing arrangement is also highly significant for Google, which is hungry for access to human-written material it can use to train its AI models to improve their 鈥渦nderstanding鈥 of the world and thus their ability to provide relevant answers to questions in a conversational format.
Google praised Reddit , calling it a repository for 鈥渁n incredible breadth of authentic, human conversations and experiences鈥 and stressing that the search giant primarily aims 鈥渢o make it even easier for people to benefit from that useful information.鈥
Google played down its interest in using Reddit data to train its AI systems, instead emphasizing how it will make it 鈥渆ven easier鈥 for users to access Reddit information, such as product recommendations and travel advice, by funneling it through Google products.
It described this process as 鈥渕ore content-forward displays of Reddit information鈥 that aim to benefit both Google's tools and to make it easier for people to participate on Reddit.
