Reddit search usage jumps 30% as platform eyes billion-user goal

Reddit reported revenue of $663 million in Q1 2026, beating Wall Street’s expectations of $609.8 million. The performance was supported by the platform’s ongoing investment in search and AI features, which have driven user acquisition and retention. According to CEO Steve Huffman on Thursday, the company has seen a 30% year-on-year jump in the number of people using search every week. Huffman noted that search has become a major driver of user acquisition and retention for the platform.

“On search, we have seen great performance. Search DAUs, WAUs, and queries are up meaningfully year-over-year. It’s a great driver of retention and DAUs. The search team is, quite frankly, I think doing a great job. If you use Reddit Answers, you can see it is better integrated into the product,” Huffman said.

The platform’s user base expanded across both U.S. and international markets during the quarter. Reddit reported the following user growth metrics:

• Weekly Active Unique Users (WAUq): More than 493 million, representing a 23% increase from the same period last year.
• Daily Active Unique Users (DAUq): About 126 million, a 17% improvement from a year earlier.
• U.S. Daily Active Unique Users: 53.5 million DAUqs, reflecting a 7% improvement in U.S. visitors.
• International Daily Active Unique Users: 73.3 million DAUqs, representing a 26% increase.

This growth aligns with Reddit’s efforts to capitalize on the commercial intent of its users. Huffman stated that around 40% of conversations on Reddit are commercial in nature, and 84% of shoppers feel more confident in their buying decisions after researching on the platform. To leverage this, Reddit started testing product placement through AI search results in the U.S. in February.

Beyond search, the company’s machine translation feature, which now supports over 30 languages, has driven significant user growth over the past few quarters. These initiatives support Reddit’s long-term expansion strategy, as the company plans to reach a billion daily users worldwide and 100 million daily users in the U.S. Additionally, the company reported $1 million in capital expenditures in the quarter.

Why it matters

Reddit’s pivot toward search and AI-driven features is successfully converting casual browsing into commercial intent, directly fueling revenue growth and user retention.