The strategy: Reddit is looking to ecommerce to monetize its community-driven platform.

Its latest move involves testing an AI-powered search feature that pairs community recommendations with products from shopping and advertising partners using the platform’s Dynamic Product Ads.

A subset of US users will now see interactive product carousels in search results, complete with pricing, images, and direct links to buy.

How it works: If a user searches for “best noise-canceling headphones” or “electronic gift ideas for a college student,” a product carousel may appear within results. The featured items are drawn from products directly mentioned in related posts and comments, alongside pricing and images. Tapping a product opens additional details and routes the user to the retailer’s site to complete the purchase.

Implications for marketers: Reddit has an opportunity to convert its large, highly engaged audience into shoppers. Weekly active users of its search tool have climbed more than 33% YoY to over 80 million, while weekly active users of its AI-powered Reddit Answers feature surged to 15 million by the end of Q4 2025, up from just 1 million at the start of the year.

Advertisers are already leaning in. Reddit ad spend rose 46.3% YoY last year, which is more than double Instagram’s growth rate and roughly five times TikTok’s, according to Sensor Tower.

The audience—and advertiser appetite—are there, but the challenge is turning intent into transactions. That will require delivering relevant results and ad formats that feel native to conversations rather than disruptive. On the surface, Reddit’s approach appears to solve for relevance by anchoring product recommendations in authentic community conversations. The bigger question is whether it can deliver those recommendations in a timely and captivating way that reaches users when they’re open to shopping, not just scrolling.