There’s a joke that Google has become so bloated with so many advertisements and otherwise promoted material that it’s borderline unhelpful, to the point that the proper way in the 2020s to search for something is to Google “something something Reddit.”
At least, it was a joke for a few moments before we all realized it was true. Whether you’re searching for a walk-through on how to diagnose a faulty smartphone app to searching for recommendations of a nice bourbon, Reddit’s user-supplied posts are often the most helpful corner of the internet.
Reddit introduced Reddit Answers last year to help users find summarized information from across Reddit with a little AI assistance, but they still had to go to that specific section of the website to access it. Now, Reddit’s announced that they’re moving the AI info-fetching tool into the site’s main search bar.
the changes
“We are now working to integrate it into Reddit core search experience to further streamline the path from question to answer on Reddit,” said CEO Steve Huffman on a call discussing the company’s first-quarter earnings, as reported by Engadget.
“Integrating into Reddit search means we want one search box. That’ll be the primary search box, and you’ll type your query in there, you’ll get, potentially, your [Reddit] Answers, answer, or, you know, more of a traditional Reddit response, depending on what you’re searching for.”
It may seem like a small change, but search engines spend an awful lot of energy and resources speeding up the search process. If users aren’t required to interrupt their search for information by navigating to a separate web page, it removes a hurdle.
Who knows, maybe with time it’ll even begin to displace our tendency (or borderline need) to Google the word “Reddit” along with every search inquiry.
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