Reddit and AI search, and what still works after the crackdown.
For a while, a few planted Reddit comments were the quickest way into ChatGPT and Google's AI answers. Over the summer Reddit, Google and ChatGPT all closed that door. This is what changed, what now gets brands banned and what still works.
What changed this summer
Reddit was one of the sources AI answers quoted most, and Google and OpenAI both pay to use its content. So brands and agencies started planting recommendations in threads to get picked up. Between July and August the platform, Google and ChatGPT each moved against it.
| When | Who | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 6th Jul | Said it handles more than 23m spam views a day, stops around 25k spam posts and comments a day and removes about 2m fake votes a day. Accounts are checked as they're created, and AI models look for coordinated behaviour. | |
| 4th Aug | Told The Verge that Reddit "gets no special preference" in its rankings, in a story about brands astroturfing threads. Reddit had already lost Google traffic in the May core update and the June spam update. | |
| 14th Aug | ChatGPT | Promptwatch tracked Reddit's share of ChatGPT Search citations falling from 3.83% to 0.52%, a drop of 86%. Promptwatch calls the figure provisional. |
Why planted posts stopped working
Being read isn't being cited. AI tools still search Reddit, but an answer that reads a thread without citing it sends no traffic and no brand mention.
Accounts are judged from day one. Reddit checks accounts as they're made and asks suspicious ones to prove a person is behind them. A batch of new accounts is now a batch of flagged accounts.
Communities notice. In The Verge's example, a promotional comment for a skincare spray picked up three upvotes, while the top reply, with 25, said any cheap brand would do. Another member posted a warning about marketing bots.
It's a fake review. A post written as a happy customer, when it's really the brand or its agency, breaks consumer law. In the UK the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has banned writing or commissioning fake reviews since 6th Apr 2025, and the CMA can fine up to 10% of global turnover. In the US the FTC's rule on fake reviews has applied since 21st Oct 2024.
What still works
- Post as yourself. One named person from the brand, such as a founder, product lead or someone from support, active in two or three communities where they know the subject. Say who you are in the profile and whenever you mention the product. Most of what they post should have nothing to do with it.
- Earn mentions from real customers. Ask happy customers to share their experience at the right moment. Use one consistent brand name so mentions add up, and reply in public when people talk about you, good or bad.
- Read Reddit before you write. Recommendation threads show the words buyers use, which are often close to the prompts they type into ChatGPT. Use them to plan pages, FAQs and product copy.
- Publish the page the thread stands in for. If a thread ranks for the best product for a job, you should have a page that answers it better, with comparisons, prices, who it suits and the answer in the first paragraph.
- Collect honest reviews where AI looks. Google, retailer and Amazon reviews are all read by AI tools and shopping assistants. Ask every customer rather than only the happy ones, and never tie a request to a rating.
What gets brands banned
Reddit's rules and each community's own rules, which are usually stricter, rule out the same things.
- Staff or agency accounts posing as customers
- Several accounts backing the same product
- Bought or coordinated upvotes
- The same link posted across lots of communities at once
- AI written replies posted in bulk
- Reposting after moderators take something down
A simple test is whether you'd be happy for the community to know who wrote the post. If not, don't post it.
Where this leaves AI search
Reddit mattered to AI answers because it looked like real people talking, so faking it was always going to get caught. What still works is the real thing. Customers who talk about you because they want to, pages that answer the question properly and reviews you didn't write. It's how we run creator programmes for clients too, with #ad on every paid or gifted post.
Sources
- Reddit reports more than 23 million daily spam views, Social Media Today
- Reddit loses search traffic as Google denies any ranking preference, PPC Land
- Reddit's ChatGPT citation share fell 86 percent and nobody can explain the timing, Relevant Audience
- Fake reviews (CMA208), Competition and Markets Authority
- No more faux five stars, the DMCC Act bans fake reviews, CMS
- FTC issues final rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, Morgan Lewis
Questions clients ask us.
Does Reddit still rank in Google?
Yes. Google said Reddit gets no special preference, not that it has been pushed down. A thread still ranks when it's the best answer to the search.
Does ChatGPT still cite Reddit?
Far less than it did. Promptwatch tracked Reddit's share of ChatGPT Search citations falling from 3.83% in late July to 0.52% by the middle of August 2026. It calls the figure provisional, so treat it as a trend to watch rather than a final number.
Can a brand mention its own product on Reddit?
Yes, if you say who you are, the mention helps the conversation and it's a small part of what you post. Check each community's rules first, as many are stricter than Reddit's own.
Is paying for Reddit seeding legal in the UK?
A post that poses as a genuine customer is likely to be a fake review under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, and commissioning one is banned too. We're not lawyers, so take legal advice before signing anything that includes it.
More from the Resource Centre.
Brand value, not compliance, is the biggest AI risk.
What our impact assessments found when real content carried a made with AI label, the rules now in force and six steps to use AI without hurting the brand.
Amazon review moderation, and how to protect your star rating.
Why four stars matters, how we find reviews that break Amazon's guidelines and the six step process we run for clients.
Creator seeding that gets posts, not just parcels.
The nine stages, vetting checks and two tiers we use for creator seeding and gifting, plus the changes that lift the post rate.
Got a brief like this?
Tell us where you want to grow, and we'll show you how we'd get there.