Reddit has graduated from a niche playground for memes and gamers to a critical source of human insight for AI.
In August 2025, it was the most cited platform across major LLMs, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. According to SEMrush, it’s also the second most visited site in the US, and fifth in the UK, largely due to AI referrals and Google’s integration of Reddit content into its AI Overviews.
The landscape, however, is shifting fast. In September 2025, Google restricted the ‘free pipeline’ that allowed AI tools to scrape its search results at scale, reducing unlicensed Reddit citations.
While this change limited Reddit’s organic visibility in some AI tools, it also strengthened its strategic importance as a licensed data source. By closing free access, Google and OpenAI now rely on Reddit’s official data partnerships, transforming its 16 billion posts and comments into premium, monetisable assets. The shift underscores the importance of an integrated GEO approach, as discussed later in this article.
Here’s how brands can turn Reddit and other digital channels into reliable sources for AI-driven discovery, boosting visibility, authority and ultimately conversions.
Why does Reddit matter for generative engine optimisation (GEO)?
Unlike traditional SEO, which targets search engines, generative engine optimisation (GEO) is about shaping the sources that large language models (LLMs) use to generate answers.
Until recently, AI tools freely drew from Reddit content indexed by Google. Following Google’s restrictions, that pipeline has narrowed, but Reddit’s strategic value has grown. Its content is now licensed directly to Google and OpenAI, meaning it continues to inform AI systems like Gemini’s Overviews.
The platform’s structure – real people sharing first-hand experiences, moderated for relevance and credibility – makes it a goldmine of qualitative intelligence. These signals are precisely what AI models favour when generating answers.
So, as the free flow of Reddit content into AI has tightened, its influence has become more controlled, exclusive and commercially valuable. For marketers, that means a strong, authentic Reddit presence carries authority per citation, making it a smart long-term investment in any GEO strategy.
How to build a successful Reddit GEO strategy
Step 1: Lurk and learn
Before posting a single comment, start by observing. Reddit conversations directly influence AI outputs, so understanding how your audience speaks, what they care about and where your expertise adds value is critical.
Reddit Pro, a free suite of tools designed to help businesses build an authentic, organic presence on the platform, will be your best friend. Reddit Pro lets brands:
- Identify the top subreddits where their category is being discussed
- Get insights into community-level conversations
- Publish content and track performance to grow their presence
Reddit recently expanded this with Reddit Pro Trends, a real-time listening tool. Pro Trends lets businesses track virtually any keyword or phrase across Reddit, from brand names and product categories to competitors and cultural moments.
The tools give brands and marketers a bird’s-eye view of communities and a magnifying glass for specific topics (the perfect starting point for building a credible GEO strategy).
Step 2: Join conversations and offer value
Reddit is famously unforgiving to overt marketing, and even the whiff of self-promotion can sink a post. Rather than corporate accounts, influence flows through individuals and conversations. Get started by commenting and then post.
Best practices for adding value:
- Answer questions genuinely: Focus on being helpful first, rather than promotional. Offer transparent answers with value rather than an overt brand plug.
- Share actionable insights: Reddit thrives on community-driven expertise. Share practical examples, case studies or lessons learned that people won’t find in a quick Google search.
- Engage with influential Redditors: High-karma contributors hold sway. Building trust and rapport with them can have a multiplier effect.
Tip: Karma is Reddit’s reputation score. Valuable contributions earn upvotes; poor ones earn downvotes. The higher the karma, the more likely your content is trusted, by both humans and AI.
Step 3: Optimise for machine readability
LLMs need structured, digestible content. Optimising your website and content for machine readability increases the chances of being cited.
Best practices for machine readability:
- Use clear, factual language and define jargon.
- Structure content with H2s, bullet points and tables.
- Summarise long sections with TL;DRs and key takeaways.
This approach ensures your content is both human-friendly and AI-friendly, maximising citation potential.
Step 4: Integrate community insights into content
Reddit is a live focus group. Threads reveal real user pain points, preferred language and competitor gaps.
How to integrate insights:
- Mine discussions for pain points: Use these to shape blog posts, FAQs and knowledge-base content.
- Mirror user language: If your audience calls it ‘budget skincare’ not ‘affordable skincare’, use their terms.
- Spot gaps: If users are asking questions competitors haven’t answered, fill that void with your own content.
Tip: This is where your earlier research using Reddit Pro tools comes into its own.
Step 5: Maintain consistency across channels
For brands, it’s important to use language consistent with Redditors’ (or else you’ll become very obvious, very quickly), but GEO rewards consistency. Conflicting product names or key messaging confuse both humans and AI.
Best practices for digital consistency:
- Unify company bios and descriptions across LinkedIn, your website, press coverage and social channels.
- Standardise product names to avoid diluting recognition.
- Conduct regular audits to ensure tone, messaging and facts remain consistent.
How to measure success
The real value of Reddit and GEO lies in influencing discovery. A single Reddit conversation today can shape AI recommendations tomorrow, leading to website visits and eventual conversions. Use Reddit Pro’s performance tab to track:
- Content quality (upvote rate, aiming for 75%+ and comments received)
- Growth (reach, account-level views)
- Brand awareness and traffic (volume of brand mentions, share of voice, profile followers)
More broadly, GEO monitoring tools like Profound are also proving valuable for tracking citations in AI-driven search results.
This brand-first approach aligns with broader marketing trends. Censuswide’s 2026 Voice of a CMO report highlights a shift from short-term sales to long-term brand equity, with brand awareness now the top metric CMOs track. For marketers, trust and influence is outweighing immediate conversions.
For more information on optimising your organic content on Reddit, check out the platform’s organic playbook.
The importance of an integrated GEO approach
Large language models draw from a web of signals to determine which brands are credible, so GEO success depends on a holistic digital footprint. While Reddit remains influential, its visibility and citation frequency can fluctuate, reflecting the fast-evolving nature of the GEO landscape.
This makes an integrated approach essential. Your brand’s influence should span multiple channels – social platforms, digital PR, user-generated content and your own website.
A holistic digital footprint ensures that even if one platform’s reach dips, your credibility and discoverability remain strong. In other words, GEO success comes from creating a resilient, interconnected ecosystem of signals that consistently positions your brand as authoritative and trusted.
Supporting tactics
- Query fanout: LLM-powered systems often use multiple retrieval steps or query reformulations to generate a complete answer. Optimising for these variations, from long-tail keywords to alternative phrasings, increases the likelihood that your brand is cited.
- Digital PR: Coverage in trusted outlets, whether through press mentions, advertorials or influencer collaborations, boosts authority and amplifies visibility in AI-driven results.
- E-E-A-T: LLMs prioritise content that demonstrates a well-known SEO framework: EEAT (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness). Use this framework across your content marketing efforts.
- User-generated content (UGC): UGC more broadly is important, too. Contributions on platforms like Wikipedia and Quora reinforce credibility and complement Reddit engagement.
Ready to future-proof your brand for AI-driven discovery?
At Brandnation, we offer GEO advisory services to B2B, B2C and corporate brands. Our integrated marketing proposition, spanning PR, social media, influencer marketing and performance marketing, covers the full media spectrum to ensure your brand grows with optimal conditions for GEO success.
Get in touch to find out how we can help.
About the author
Natalie Clement | Digital
Marketing Executive
With international experience as a digital marketer, writer, and editor, Natalie has worked across sectors including lifestyle, technology, and tourism.
