Reddit CEO Tells Brands: Build Communities, Not Just Ads

Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman told moderators on Oct. 24 that "the job of the home feed, the job of the app, is to get users into subreddits" — a statement marketers should read as a roadmap for the platform's next phase.

Speaking at Mod World in a question-and-answer session, Huffman laid out a vision that shifts Reddit's emphasis from search traffic and AI licensing deals toward deepening the bond between individual users and individual communities. His summary of the company's core asset was blunt: "Our product is humans."

What did Huffman say about the home feed?

The Reddit home feed currently mixes communities with entirely different purposes and tones, placing a serious discussion next to a meme, a funny video or an ad. Users can vote on posts from that feed without understanding the community the posts came from, which lets content go popular on the votes of people with no connection to the subreddit.

Huffman wants subreddits to feel more distinct, including renewed options for customizing their appearance. The goal is for people to understand the place they are entering and develop a relationship with it, a direction already flagged in Reddit's Q2 shareholder letter, which explicitly described building a daily destination.

For marketing teams, that raises the weight of understanding what makes a specific community worth returning to — and strengthens the case for brands building subreddits of their own.

How could following and joining change?

Huffman floated separating following a community from joining it. A user could follow a subreddit to read it without participating. Joining would involve a progression: observe first, gain the ability to comment later, and eventually earn the ability to vote if contributions are well received.

He said the team is still working through the mechanics, including how they would function for small and large communities, and gave no date or specific entry requirements.

The order matters because voting shapes a community's culture. A clearer progression could help businesses understand what is expected before contributing, and give moderators a better way to welcome legitimate newcomers rather than relying on broad restrictions that catch them alongside spam.

How is Reddit handling bots and spam?

Huffman said the time to take down spam and suspected-bot content has fallen from 45 minutes to two minutes over the past year, and put the bot figure below 2%, citing unnamed third-party research. He did not explain how the numbers were measured.

He acknowledged a harder problem: some accounts labeled bots are humans pasting ChatGPT-written text into Reddit, and detecting a human behind the account does not settle whether the contribution belongs. He expects computer-using AI agents to make the distinction harder still, and said he keeps returning to clear labels and letting communities decide what belongs. For marketers, that means human accounts alone will not meet the standard — contributions need real knowledge and judgment behind them.

What about AutoModerator and new users?

Huffman said 30% of posts from new users get banned automatically by AutoModerator, and the vast majority of those posts are fine. He described a planned combination of AI that can interpret context with conventional automated rules for precise requirements, aiming to handle routine enforcement while giving moderators more room for judgment, appeals and community building. Reddit's Rules Hub, already live for newly created public and restricted communities and communities in the beta, is part of that work.

He also said people should be able to tell whether they are talking to a marketing team, a bot or another person, with moderators deciding what belongs. Huffman would like subreddits to have ways to make money, but said Reddit is not working on that right now.

For brands, the message is consistent: identify yourself transparently, contribute where qualified, and consider an owned subreddit as a long-term relationship built on useful answers, follow-ups and peer-to-peer help — measured by whether people return and help one another.