Reddit is launching an AI-powered product reviews feature, taking the platform into the product reviews business for the first time.
The feature draws on conversations between Reddit users to produce its reviews. Rather than relying on a traditional review process, it builds its assessments from what people on the site have already said about the items they use.
The launch puts Reddit alongside retailers and dedicated review sites that have long competed for shoppers looking for buying advice. The company has not previously operated as a reviews business, and the feature marks a clear change in how it uses the discussion that fills its communities.
The rollout
One report says the feature will start with 10,000 products. That figure has been attributed to a single outlet rather than to Reddit itself.
Reddit's users, whose posts and comments supply the material behind the reviews, are the people most directly affected. Shoppers who already turn to the site to ask for recommendations will now see that discussion condensed into AI-generated summaries of individual products.
The launch also adds to the pressure on existing review publishers and comparison sites, which now face a rival with a large body of firsthand opinion to draw on.
A wider timetable for expanding the feature beyond its first group of products has not been announced.
Logo: Reddit
