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Reddit Reviews goes against the whole philosophy of the platform, say users
Many Redditors have expressed dismay at the launch of Reddit Reviews, a new AI-powered feature which aims to summarise posts about particular products.
Reddit is positioning the feature as a way to save time and effort when researching a potential purchase, but many Redditors say that replacing human interaction with AI summaries is antithetical to the whole philosophy of the platform – and is going to make the existing spam problem massively worse …
The value of customer reviews on ecommerce platforms like Amazon is becoming increasingly questionable thanks to practices like astroturfing by brands and offering people free products in return for five-star reviews.
That’s led to Reddit becoming one of the most trusted sources of feedback and advice on potential purchases, precisely because it’s a forum in which real people are free to express their true opinions. Indeed, many use a filter in their Google searches to draw content from Reddit specifically, adding the suffix ‘site:reddit.com’.
Reddit certainly isn’t immune to astroturfing – that is, fake posts by brands posing as ordinary users – but moderators put a lot of work into deleting spam and other inauthentic posts.
The platform yesterday announced the launch of Reddit Reviews, in which AI summarises the posts made about particular products and product categories. It’s being pitched as a way for people to save time when seeking the product opinions of Redditors.
Across Reddit’s communities, people discuss everything from hobbies and daily life to products they’re researching. By offering perspectives grounded in real experience, these conversations provide valuable context in every purchase decision journey […]
Today, we are starting to test Reddit Reviews, a new experience that organizes product conversations from across Reddit into dedicated reviews and highlights the most important takeaways from across our communities.
However, as CNET spotted, the move has led to a backlash by many Redditors and subreddit moderators.
“I’ve already seen this in practice and it is a nightmare. It turns a basic conversation into an ad-ridden distracting mess. It’s horrible to read and had me fleeing every thread I saw it in.”