Reddit began testing ads that appear in search results, aimed at people who use the site for shopping recommendations. For example, a search for an espresso station might show ads for beans, mugs, or espresso machines. A search for a home office setup could surface ads for monitors, desks, or office chairs. And a search for “feet pics” might show… Dr. Scholl’s sneakers? Well, I guess we’ll soon see how contextually accurate Reddit’s algorithm is.
Only a small group of advertisers can buy the format during the first round, and Reddit hasn’t said how often the ads will appear, but its screenshots show them near the top of results. The test comes a week after Reddit said Google’s AI Mode had cut its search referrals and announced plans to require visitors to log in to view content, which CEO Steve Huffman said would improve ad targeting.
Reddit has been on an advertising frenzy since its IPO in 2024:
- Apr 2024: Dynamic Product Ads entered beta, which automatically pull products from a brand’s catalog and show them next to related conversations. They rolled out to all advertisers in May 2025.
- Jan 2025: AMA Ads, which let brands promote their Ask Me Anything sessions with RSVPs and reminders.
- Jun 2025: Conversation Summary Add-ons, which put positive user posts under brand ads, plus the Reddit Insights listening tool.
- Jul 2025: An optimization score and recommendations in Ads Manager.
- Nov 2025: Interactive Ads with quizzes, countdowns, and mini games, tested with Paramount, EA, Red Bull, and the Ad Council.
- Jan 2026: Max campaigns, an AI-automated campaign type, launched in beta.
- Feb 2026: AI shopping carousels tested in search.
- Mar 2026: Collection Ads, Community and Deal Overlays, and a Shopify integration for Dynamic Product Ads, which rolled out to all merchants in June.
- Apr 2026: Reminder Ads went live for all advertisers.
- Jun 2026: Shopping Listing Ads, its first ad unit with products from multiple brands (in alpha), plus a free-form ad generator and Redditor Highlights to all advertisers.
- Oct 2026: A campaign planner that forecasts reach and cost, plus a campaign-level optimization score.
- Nov 2026: Ads in search results.
If you’ve ever wondered what ad-shittification looks like on a platform, there’s a glimpse! And of course, that doesn’t even count all the shilling that goes on within the subreddits themselves.
