Not long after announcing the plan to shift the website to a login-based experience, Reddit introduced a new feature that could make it more of a destination for people to conduct product research online. On Tuesday, the company launched “Reddit Reviews”, a feature that organizes discussions about products into dedicated review pages and summarizes highlights and key conclusions from users from various communities.
The company pointed out that this new experience is built upon a way that users are already using Reddit: learning about what the products are like from others and how they can be integrated into daily life. These first-hand experiences and recommendations help consumers determine whether a product is suitable for them.
However, with the rise of generative AI and robot accounts, this field is also prone to " astroturfing" – a term that refers to the falsification of public support for brands. Nowadays, Reddit has actually turned what were once relatively casual online studies into more structured products, which may also make them more susceptible to becoming targets of such false reviews and recommendations than before.
Reddit Reviews The function itself utilizes AI to organize conversations that people have regarding product experiences. These posts usually discuss whether a particular product is user-friendly, why it may not be, or what considerations one should take into account before making a purchase.
The company has been testing this product review feature since February, initially targeting American users and covering categories such as electronics, video games, health, and beauty. By September, Reddit, the scope of testing was expanded to include home and gardening, as well as fashion and apparel categories.
Now, the company states that Reddit Reviews is being made available to all American iOS, Android users, as well as web page users, with about 10,000 products launching initially. In the future, this feature will be expanded to more categories and promoted to regions outside of the United States as well.
When using this feature, Reddit users can search for a product or category in the application's search bar, or click on the highlighted product names they see in the comments. Subsequently, users will be directed to a page where they will see a summary of important discussions under the title "What Others Think." The page also provides a visual breakdown showing how many of these comments are positive, negative, or mixed, as well as which aspects of the product people like or dislike.
For example, a user considering purchasing a espresso machine might want to know how much space it takes up on the counter, or whether it is easier for beginners to learn how to use. Reddit indicates this. Users can then browse reviews, filter them by topic, or click to jump to the original discussion where they can ask more questions or get advice.
Users can also return to the complete category page from a product review page to compare discussions on other similar products in order to weigh their choices, the company stated.
The launch of this feature coincides precisely with the busy holiday shopping season. During this time, people tend to spend more time researching products online before making larger purchases.
