Google has further cemented its dominance in the search engine market by securing an exclusive agreement with Reddit. This deal grants Google access to recent Reddit content for its search results, effectively barring other search engines like Bing from using the platform’s up-to-date information.
According to a report from The Verge, Bing and other search rivals will no longer be able to access recent Reddit posts to answer search queries. Only content older than two years will be available for use by non-Google search engines. This move significantly impacts the ability of these search engines to provide users with the most relevant and current information from Reddit, a platform known for its diverse and timely content.
The agreement appears to stem from Reddit’s growing concern about AI models scraping its data. Reddit sees itself as a hive of original ideas and discussions, and it’s understandably hesitant about AI systems utilizing its content without proper consent. Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt explained to The Verge that the agreement with Google was reached in part due to the previous agreement allowing the Gemini AI to be trained on Reddit data.
While Microsoft could potentially pay for access to recent Reddit content for Bing and its AI, Copilot, such a scenario seems unlikely. This leaves Google as the sole search engine with access to the vast pool of recent Reddit information, reinforcing its position as the dominant force in the search engine landscape.
