Reddit Reviews want to turn user discussions into easily digestible product reviews

After announcing its transition to a split home feed layout, drawing criticism for its upcoming logged-in-only experience, and even testing ads on the search results page, Reddit is now leveraging its vast collection of real-world user discussions to launch Reddit Reviews.

Yes, the feature does exactly what it sounds like. It’s a shopping tool that turns product conversations from across Reddit into dedicated reviews.

According to the company’s announcement, roughly half of US shoppers come to Reddit to validate products and recommendations that AI tools throw their way. I’d be part of that demographic if I lived in the US, considering that I turn to Reddit for real-world user experiences often. With the new Reddit Reviews feature, the company wants to make that validation process a whole lot easier.

The new tool is AI-powered too, but it doesn’t use AI to generate recommendations out of thin air. The AI simply pulls existing discussions from across Reddit and organizes them into “dedicated reviews” with the most important takeaways. The AI is also used to surface the nuance, context, and connection to your original conversation.

Users can search for a product or category to find a review. Alternatively, they can use more conversational prompts as well. For example, “best noise-cancelling headphones for noisy roommates” should surface relevant examples with mentions, pricing, a summary of what users are saying about a specific product, and whether the reviews are positive, mixed, or negative.

Importantly, Reddit is not asking you to trust its AI. The tool will also highlight all the original conversations it sourced information from. You’re then free to ask the tool a follow-up question, or join the product’s specific community for more insight. The page also highlights alternatives to compare.

Elsewhere, even though this appears to be the perfect place for brands to advertise their products, Reddit has said no to ads within Reviews, at least for now. “What appears in Reddit Reviews is shaped by Reddit communities, not paid placement. Businesses can’t pay to have products featured,” wrote the company.

The new feature is initially launching on Android, iOS, and the web with roughly 10,000 products from categories like Electronics, Health and Beauty, Home and Garden, and Fashion and Apparel. Reddit Reviews are limited to the US for now, but the company intends to expand it to different countries and add more product categories throughout next year.