Reddit might let users make paid subreddits

You might have to pay to access some subreddits in the future. During an earnings call on Tuesday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman hinted at “new types of subreddits that can be built that may have exclusive content or private areas.”

“I think the existing, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive just the way it has,” Huffman said. “But now we will unlock the door for new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be built.” Huffman said he doesn’t think these gated communities would “cannibalize” the site, which has seen an increase in users over the past few months. The site’s daily active users jumped 51 percent, bringing its total to 91.2 million, while its revenue also increased by 54 percent to $281.2 million.

Based on a statement from Reddit, it appears the “exclusive” areas mentioned by Huffman could have a paywall. “We’ve had versions of premium community features in the past, like r/goldlounge, that users loved, so we’re exploring new ways to empower moderators and communities to try exclusive spaces and content,” Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt tells The Verge. “We’ll let you know when we have more to share.”

Additionally, Huffman mentioned during the call that Reddit has started to “enhance” its search results using first-party and third-party AI models. We first heard about Reddit using AI for search in February, as its AI training deal with Google includes access to Google’s Vertex AI tool that helps companies improve search results.

This more aggressive approach to business is part of Reddit’s plan to achieve profitability, but it will need to ensure it doesn’t upset users in the process — something we saw with last year’s site-wide protests against Reddit’s API pricing.