Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Reddit and Google Cloud announced that Gemini is now integrated into Reddit Answers through Vertex AI.
- Reddit Answers is an AI-powered tool that summarizes Reddit threads to help users find quick, relevant information from real conversations.
- The deal strengthens Google’s AI reach while helping Reddit keep users engaged on-site, competing with external chatbots.
Google’s Gemini AI is quickly becoming unavoidable. After quietly replacing Google Assistant on Android phones and popping up in Search, Gmail, and Docs, it’s now moved into one of the internet’s most beloved (and chaotic) corners: Reddit.
Google Cloud and Reddit today announced that Gemini, via Google’s Vertex AI platform, is now powering part of Reddit Answers — the platform’s AI-powered conversational search tool. (h/t: PR Newswire) This move builds on Reddit’s existing partnership with Google Cloud and aims to give users better search results based on the massive trove of community-driven content Reddit is known for.
For those unfamiliar, Reddit Answers has been in beta since December 2024 and is currently live in English on the web and iOS in the US. The tool lets users ask questions and receive AI-generated summaries based on Reddit posts and comments, including direct links to the original threads and communities. Think of it as a TL;DR for Reddit, curated by AI.
Now, with Gemini on board, the idea is that Reddit Answers can generate more accurate, relevant, and conversational responses by grounding them in real Reddit posts. Google claims that Gemini’s integration helps Reddit Answers better reflect authentic, real-world insights, thanks to its ability to sift through Reddit’s 100,000-plus active communities and summarize millions of weekly discussions from roughly 400 million users.
Reddit, for its part, says this has improved the relevance of its search results and increased user engagement. According to Matt Snelham, Reddit’s SVP of Infrastructure, the feature has led to more users heading directly to the Reddit homepage through Reddit Answers. “We are bringing the same innovation that powers Google to our users,” he said.
Michael Clark, Google Cloud’s North America President, said the integration “underscores the potential of combining vast datasets with advanced technology,” framing the move as a win for users looking to find answers faster and navigate directly to the conversations that matter.
But not everyone seems thrilled. Redditors have taken to threads like this one to share mixed reactions (h/t: News). Some users are frustrated by the rollout of the Answers tab in their feeds, calling it “annoying,” “cluttered,” and “unnecessary,” especially when traditional search or subreddit browsing worked just fine.
Others are asking how to remove it altogether, or at least get the option to turn it off. So while Reddit’s AI push might make the platform more accessible to newcomers, it seems the core community still values the raw, unfiltered experience that made Reddit what it is.
The bigger picture here is that Reddit seems determined to stake a claim in the AI space and maybe keep users from leaving for external chatbots. After signing a deal with OpenAI in May 2024, which gave ChatGPT access to Reddit’s real-time Data API, this Gemini integration marks another strategic use of its vast content archive.
