Reddit is eyeing search advertising amid a traffic surge from Google, its EVP of business marketing and growth Jim Squires told Axios.
Why it matters: Reddit believes more users will want human answers to intent-based search queries as search engines lean further into AI summaries.
Squires pointed to the fact that there were 23 billion Google search queries last year that included the word "Reddit."
Catch up quick: Reddit struck an annual $60 million AI content licensing deal with Google earlier this year.
Executives have dismissed the notion that the deal has boosted their search results, instead crediting their product improvements.
The big picture: While licensing its user-generated content could present a bigger business opportunity for Reddit long-term, Squires said the company will remain primarily an advertising business "for the foreseeable future."
The company, which has yet to post a profit, saw strong advertising and user growth for the first quarter.
Shares in the company are up 16% since it went public in March.
