Reddit comments are 'foundational' to training AI models, COO says
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- Reddit COO Jen Wong said the company's content is "foundational" to training AI models.
- Google and OpenAI have deals with Reddit to use its content to train their large language models.
- Reddit has also leveraged AI for a translation tool that's helped it grow internationally.
Last year was a big one for Reddit.
The company went public in February. Then it began investing heavily in AI for features like its translation tool and an AI-powered search tool. It also struck agreements with Google and OpenAI that allow the tech companies to train their AI models using Reddit comments and posts.
Reddit COO Jen Wong says those investments are paying off.
"AI itself, more broadly, is incredibly important to everything we're doing," Wong told AdExchanger at the CES technology conference.
Wong added that Reddit is now "foundational to the training" of large language models.
In February, Reddit signed a licensing deal with Google to train Google's AI using Reddit content for $60 million a year. Then, in May, Reddit signed another massive content data-sharing deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to train its AI models.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the company is in talks with "just about everybody" when asked if Reddit would consider working with Microsoft during The Wall Street Journal's Tech Live event in October.
Huffman said Reddit posts and comments contain a wealth of "colloquial words about pretty much every topic" that are constantly updated, making them valuable in teaching machines how to think and speak like humans.
Wong told AdExchanger that Reddit's introduction of AI translation features, meanwhile, has helped the company grow at an "accelerated rate" outside the United States.
In September, Reddit announced the expansion of an AI-powered translation feature that lets users translate Reddit posts and comments into different languages. The expansion covered more than 35 countries, including Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, and countries throughout Latin America.
"It's made our core product better," Wong said. "People find a home on Reddit."
Wong also said that Reddit plans to use AI on its advertising platform to create more "creative variants" and "make things more Reddity."
"We bought a company, Memorable AI, that allows us to do that," Wong told AdExchanger. "So we see a lot of opportunity for our AI application."
Reddit acquired Memorable AI, an AI-based advertisement company, in August 2024. Reddit said that the acquisition would give Reddit advertisers access to Memorable's "best-in-class" tools for advancing advertising campaigns in a blog post at the time.
Reddit did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider.