Reddit has been the place everyone turns to for a straight answer in a Google search, and a login wall could change that habit for good. Although I have a Reddit account, I often get recommendations when searching or using AI that reference Reddit threads or content.
Reddit has noted large declines in search traffic (I’m not talking about AI search). I, too, have seen this as well with my own site traffic and have had to pivot to making my content “more welcoming” to AI scraping, despite losing overall search referral volume.
The walled garden approach works for some businesses. Many news organizations put their content behind paywalls. This isn’t quite the same, but as the TechCrunch article notes, Reddit advertisers get a much more targeted, high-value audience, which increases the potential impact of their advertising.