Reddit shares fell 8% following reports of a possible breakup of its AI partnership with Google

Shares of Reddit, the social media platform, fell after The Wall Street Journal reported on a possible revision of the terms of the company’s partnership with Google. According to the publication, Reddit is considering no longer granting the tech giant access to its content for training AI models. The problem is that AI-generated search summaries are causing the social network’s traffic to decline.

Shares of the social media platform Reddit plummeted nearly 10% during trading on July 22, but then recovered some of their losses and closed the session down 8.3%.

The sell-off was triggered by a report in *The Wall Street Journal*, which, citing sources, stated that the company had discussed the possibility of denying Google access to its content for training AI models. In 2024, they signed an agreement granting Google the right to use Reddit’s data for $60 million a year, CNBC notes. However, Reddit began to question the benefits of this partnership, as the introduction of AI Overviews in Google Search reduced traffic to its sites, according to the WSJ.

The partnership between the two companies is set to expire soon, and the parties are in talks about a possible extension, according to the WSJ. Reddit has a similar partnership with OpenAI. Steve Huffman, CEO of the company that owns the online forum, described these partnerships as “very significant” for the company in an interview with CNBC in April.

From June 2025 to June 2026, search traffic from Google to the Politico website fell by 23%; for CNN, the drop was approximately 25%; and for Business Insider, it was more than 85%, according to the WSJ. Against this backdrop, many media companies and publishers are reevaluating their relationships with AI developers, and some are attempting to protect their intellectual property through the courts, the publication notes.

Google’s AI-powered search functions drive billions of clicks to the internet every week and help users find the information they need more quickly, a spokesperson for the tech giant told the newspaper. AI tools highlight links to websites, help content creators and publishers grow their audiences, and provide website owners with tools to manage how their content is used, Google noted.

Since the beginning of the year, Reddit's stock has fallen 26%.

Despite the drop in share prices, Wall Street as a whole remains optimistic about the company’s prospects. According to MarketWatch, 23 of the 35 analysts tracking the stock recommend buying it, 11 recommend holding it, and only one advises selling it. The average price target is $230, which implies 35% upside potential relative to the last closing price.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor