Update: Reddit’s share price fell by roughly a third over the past week after CEO Steve Huffman told CNBC that Google referral traffic had declined. Search Engine Roundtable’s headline puts the drop at 33 percent, while its body text says 36 percent, so the exact figure is unclear.
Huffman told CNBC that search-referral traffic went “down meaningfully in this quarter” due to the “shift to AI mode and AI overviews.” He added, “I think fundamentally that relationship between Google and the rest of the internet is evolving, and so for us, this means a continued focus on our core users that come to Reddit directly.” Past Google algorithm changes would “kind of come and go,” he said, but the AI efforts are “a fundamental shift in how the Google product works, from being a traffic driver to whatever’s going on now.”
This follows our November 2 report on Reddit blaming AI Overviews and AI Mode for falling search visits. The market reaction shows investors now price Google referral dependence as a financial risk, not only an SEO one. Teams that lean on Google clicks should model further AI-driven referral losses and weigh direct-audience channels.
Search Engine Roundtable, Barry Schwartz, November 2, 2026, citing Huffman’s interview with CNBC.
