Reddit Starts Testing Ads Inside Its Own Search Results

By Elena Vasquez

Reddit is testing ads directly inside its own search results pages, the company announced in a newsroom post on Tuesday. A select group of eligible advertisers is already in the test. Reddit said it will evaluate how users respond so it can refine the experience over time. The post does not say how those advertisers were chosen or whether others can ask to join.

The move closes a gap that Reddit's own executives flagged for investors. On the April 30 earnings call, Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Wong said Reddit did not "even have ads in certain high growing surfaces like search, for example." CEO Steve Huffman reported on the same call that "Search WAUqs are up 30% year-over-year." Search WAUqs is Reddit's shorthand for weekly active uniques who search.

How does Reddit pick the search ads?

The company described the mechanism in two sentences. "These placements leverage existing ad targeting in search results pages on Reddit, which have high purchase and search intent," the post reads. It adds: "Ads in search may appear based on a range of factors, including contextual relevance to a user's search query."

Reddit did not name the other factors. The examples in the post show the logic. A person searching for "espresso station" might see ads for coffee beans, mugs or espresso machines. A search for "home office setup" may surface ads for desks, office chairs or monitors.

The example screens show Reddit's mobile app after a search for "home office setup." Each screen displays a card labeled "Ad" with a product image, a website address and a "Shop Now" button. One card sits under a blurb that cites subreddits as its sources. Another appears between two posts.

What led up to the test?

Brooke Osmundson reported that in October 2024, Reddit extended the keyword targeting it uses in conversation placements to the platform's Feed. In its first-quarter shareholder letter, Reddit said the product placements let users browse listings and shop from within search results.

During the Q2 investor call, Wong called search "a space that we're eyeing" for advertising, according to Roger Montti. She said Reddit has the infrastructure "already queued up." She also cited Shopping Listing Ads, a format that groups several retailers' products into one module, as the type of ad that could work on a search page.

What is Reddit not saying?

The announcement leaves out most of the operational detail. The post does not specify:

• Which markets the test covers
• Which ad format types are included
• Which ad pricing models apply
• Whether the test extends beyond the app shown in the examples
• How advertisers were selected or can apply

The post also gives no end date for the test and no timeline for adding more advertisers.

Why does this matter for advertisers?

Reddit is pitching its search pages on the strength of what users type there. The company frames searchers as high-intent audiences, closer to a purchase decision than the average feed scroller. For brands in categories like home office or coffee equipment, that intent signal is the core of the value proposition.

For now, access is closed. Advertisers inside the test should ask their Reddit rep whether their account is included and how search impressions will appear in reporting. Advertisers outside it can watch for search to appear among Reddit's listed ad placements. The test has no published end date, so the next signal will likely come from Reddit's reporting or a follow-up newsroom post rather than a launch calendar.