TLDR: A recent report by Semrush reveals that Reddit has become the primary source for large language models (LLMs) in 2025, accounting for 40.1% of citations in AI-generated responses. This significant shift, which sees Reddit outperforming traditional information giants like Google and Wikipedia, is largely attributed to a $60 million API licensing deal with Google in 2024, granting AI systems extensive access to its user-generated content.
In a significant shift within the digital information landscape, Reddit has ascended to become the leading source for large language models (LLMs) in 2025, according to a comprehensive report by analytics firm Semrush. The study indicates that a remarkable 40.1% of all references in AI-generated responses now originate from the discussion-driven platform, a figure that places it well ahead of long-standing information powerhouses such as Wikipedia and Google.
This surge in Reddit’s prominence is directly linked to a pivotal $60 million API licensing deal struck with Google in 2024. This agreement provided AI systems with unprecedented access to Reddit’s vast repository of user-generated discussions, enabling LLMs to tap into a rich, dynamic, and often niche source of human conversation and real-world problem-solving that traditional encyclopedias and news sites may overlook.
The Semrush report, based on an analysis of 150,000 citations from 5,000 randomly selected keywords, highlights Wikipedia as the second most-cited source, with 26.3% of citations. YouTube follows closely at 23.5%, with Google’s own search results accounting for 23.3%. Other notable sources in the top 10 include Yelp (21%), Facebook (20%), and Amazon (18.7%), showcasing the diverse range of content now fueling AI outputs. Analytics from Profound, examining over 30 million AI citations throughout Q2 2025, further reinforce Reddit’s dominance, showing it cited nearly twice as often as Wikipedia on platforms like Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, though OpenAI’s ChatGPT still leans more on Wikipedia.
Financially, Reddit has capitalized on this strategic value. In Q2 2025, the company reported impressive results, with revenue growing 78% year-over-year to $500 million and achieving a net income of $89 million. Its Daily Active Uniques (DAUq) reached 110.4 million. Data licensing deals, including those with Google and OpenAI, contributed $35 million to its ‘Other revenue’ category in Q2, marking a 24% year-over-year increase and representing approximately 10% of its total revenue. Reddit is also actively protecting its data assets, as evidenced by a lawsuit against AI firm Anthropic for alleged unlicensed data scraping.
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Beyond licensing, Reddit is making a strategic push to become a go-to search engine itself. Its ‘Reddit Answers’ tool has seen explosive growth, expanding fivefold to six million weekly users in the last quarter. The company plans to integrate this AI-powered tool with its main search feature, aiming to leverage its unique content directly. However, analysts like Redburn have raised concerns regarding the monetization of this increased visibility, noting that a significant portion of Reddit’s growth comes from logged-out users who may not engage deeply enough to generate substantial advertising revenue. Furthermore, Google’s AI Mode, while citing Reddit, could potentially reduce direct click-throughs to Reddit posts, impacting the platform’s traffic and ad revenue, a concern that has reportedly affected Reddit’s stock prices in May.
