Reddit has rolled out its AI-powered “Answers” search feature, which promises to make the site’s search engine faster, smarter, and more relevant. However, many users are unhappy with the current state of search and feel that this new feature doesn’t address their concerns.
The feature allows users to ask questions and receive answers using a conversational interface that returns curated summaries of relevant conversations and details across Reddit. It operates in a similar way to Google’s AI-generated search results but relies on posts and comments from the site rather than data from around the internet.
Only a limited number of users have been invited to access the feature, and it is not yet available to the general public. Reddit has promised to expand it to additional languages in the coming months, but no release date has been announced.
The rollout comes after Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman emphasized the importance of search in the company’s strategy, saying it would be a focused investment for 2025. However, users are skeptical about the feature’s potential impact on the site’s overall functionality and user experience.
Some users have expressed concerns that the new feature is merely an attempt to please investors and venture capitalists, while others predict chaos as highly-upvoted sarcastic responses become more prominent in top results. Reddit has assured users that the existing search function will not be replaced by the Answers feature and that they can continue to use both.
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/09/reddit_ai_answers_search_feature