Reddit Demands More from Google: A New Era for AI Deals?

Reddit is renegotiating its licensing deal with Google, which currently pays $60 million annually for access to Reddit content used to train AI models. According to an unnamed company executive, the talks focus on two core demands: stronger support from Google in driving new user growth for Reddit and a revised, more flexible licensing structure.

The article notes that Google provides Reddit with significant volumes of organic search traffic, but most visitors read posts without registering or contributing, a pattern Reddit hopes to change to boost posts and, in turn, AI training material. Reddit wants a quality-based, dynamic pricing model that reflects the usefulness or importance of its content in generating AI outputs, including within tools like ChatGPT and other AI-powered search and reference systems.

The piece also mentions that Reddit’s data is cited in Google’s AI Overviews and in emerging AI search tools such as Perplexity AI, with Reddit arguing that AI companies should compensate the platform whenever its posts are used or referenced.