Reddit’s new AI search engine is powered by Google Gemini

Google has officially confirmed that Reddit’s internal search engine, Reddit Answers, is built on the Gemini artificial intelligence model. Previously, there was only speculation about this, but now it’s clear: the entire intelligence behind Reddit Answers is Google’s own, tightly integrated with the Vertex AI cloud platform.

Google has officially confirmed that its internal search engine is built on Gemini’s AI model.

The news was announced at Google’s Cloud Next conference, where the company presented details about its partnership with Reddit and explained exactly how their joint solution works.

Google’s AI-powered Reddit search

The Reddit Answers feature was launched in beta mode in December 2024. Its goal is to quickly find relevant discussions, recommendations, and opinions in Reddit communities by using AI to understand context and summarize responses.

It’s now known that the engine behind this system is Gemini, the same language model that underpins Google Search with AI search, Google’s AI mode, and the Gemini chatbot. The only difference is the source: Reddit Answers works exclusively with content on Reddit itself, extracting the essence from it, structuring the information, and directing the user to the most useful tracks.

Reddit Answers works exclusively with content on Reddit itself, extracting the essence, structuring the information, and directing the user to the most useful tracks.

Reddit and Google: cloud-level partnership

The secret to the tight integration lies in a long-standing partnership between Reddit and Google. Reddit uses Vertex AI, part of the Google Cloud platform, which allows it to embed Gemini-based tools into its internal products. Michael Clarke, president of Google Cloud’s North American division, said:

Michael Clarke, president of Google Cloud’s North American division, said.

“Integrating Vertex AI Search into Reddit Answers allows users to find the information they need faster and more accurately and more easily navigate to the discussions that really matter to them.”

An alternative to Google Search?”

The Reddit Answers feature comes amid the growing popularity of AI search – especially with ChatGPT hijacking more and more user traffic. According to a recent study by Future, up to 27% of users in the US are already using AI services like ChatGPT instead of traditional Google search. In addition, the dramatic drop in the quality of results on Google Search is only accelerating this process.

Another thing that’s happening is that AI services like ChatGPT are being used to capture more and more user traffic.

With this backdrop, Reddit Answers looks like Google’s attempt to strengthen its position: providing high-quality search for a niche but important source – Reddit discussions. And to do it with the same technology as Google’s main AI tool, Gemini.