Ep. 15 Found in AI: How Reddit Became a Power Player in AI Search (ft. Beth Chernes)
Writing for Humans vs. LLMs: What Actually Needs to Change? – Found in AI: AI Search Visibility, SEO, & GEO
In today’s episode of Found in AI, I’m joined by SEO strategist Beth Chernes to dig into why Reddit has suddenly become a power player in AI search — and what founders and marketers should be doing about it.
We break down how the Google–Reddit partnership is reshaping visibility, why Reddit keeps appearing in AI Overviews, and how to use the platform without getting banned, torched, or downvoted into oblivion.
We cover:
- Why Reddit is dominating Google’s AI Overviews right now
- How Reddit data is training LLMs — and what that means for your brand
- The right (and wrong) way to participate in subreddits
- How to use Reddit for social listening and pain-point research
- Why transparency matters more than ever on user-generated platforms
- How to track ROI from Reddit without being spammy
- One tiny Reddit experiment anyone can run this week
Transcript: How Reddit Became a Power Player in AI Search
Cassie:
If you’ve been a longtime listener of the show, you know Reddit gets mentioned in nearly every single episode. Well… today we’re finally talking about why it’s become a power player in AI search.
Welcome back to Found in AI, the show about getting your brand discovered in this new wave of AI search.
I’m your host, Cassie Clark — fractional content strategist and founder of Cassie Clark Marketing. We are officially back from Thanksgiving break. And yes, I’m already caffeinated beyond reason. If I sound funny, I’ve acquired cooties from someone I visited over the holiday. Looking at you, brother-in-law.
Anyway — today I got to bring on someone I’ve worked with for years and absolutely adore: Beth Chernes.
She’s an SEO strategist who has been in the trenches of Google long enough to know all the ins and outs. She helps accounting firms, financial brands, B2B companies, and nonprofits get found in both Google and AI engines. She’s one of my go-to experts anytime I have a question about SEO strategy.
In this episode, Beth and I dig into the real impact of the Google–Reddit partnership, why Reddit is suddenly everywhere in AI Overviews, and how marketers can use Reddit the right way — without getting banned, downvoted, or set on fire by the mods.
Here’s our conversation.
Start of Interview
Beth:
Hey, I am Beth Chernes. I run a boutique agency called Beth Chernes & Co. I do SEO strategy and content marketing for financial firms, including accounting firms and B2B businesses, along with nonprofit organizations. Basically, I help them get visibility in Google and LLMs so they can bring in new leads, generate revenue, and grow their firms.
Cassie:
When I think SEO, you are the first person I think of — you’re like the queen of SEO over here.
Beth:
I love that. I’ll take SEO royalty any day.
Cassie:
So, today we’re talking about Reddit — a whole episode dedicated to Reddit because we bring it up constantly. Can you explain the Google–Reddit partnership and why it matters for SEO and AI visibility?
Beth:
Yeah, no problem. If you’ve been on Google lately, you’ve probably noticed that for certain search terms, right after the AI Overview, you’ll see Reddit results right at the top.
Back in February 2024, Google entered a partnership with Reddit to use Reddit’s user-generated data to train their AI — essentially Gemini. That partnership benefits both sides: Google gets high-quality user-generated data, and Reddit gets visibility and monetization.
Since that partnership, Reddit results have been surfacing higher because Google wants people to click them. It’s also showing up inside AI Overviews, which is why being on Reddit is now incredibly useful — both for listening to users and for answering relevant questions.
Cassie:
Back in the early days — and when I say early days, I mean like… March — people would search “how to make pizza” and AI would say “put glue in it” because Reddit said that. Have you seen this lately?
Beth:
I think it’s gotten better. I don’t know who on Reddit said to put glue in pizza, but Reddit is a weird place.
Cassie:
It sure is. So from an AEO standpoint, how does contributing to Reddit threads help train the language model and help your brand get cited?
Beth:
When we think about optimizing for both search engines and LLMs, it’s all about visibility. If Google is scraping Reddit for information — and humans are also searching Reddit for answers — having your brand mentioned positively in relevant subreddits helps visibility.
But you need to be in the right subreddits and follow the rules. There’s no downside to being there unless you’re doing it poorly.
Cassie:
So what does the right way look like?
Beth:
First, identify the relevant subreddits for your brand and review their rules. These communities are run by volunteer moderators — literal gatekeepers — and you have to play by their rules.
Second, be transparent. If you’re sharing your own content or an affiliate link, disclose it clearly. People hate stealth marketing and will call you out fast.
Third, you need resources to actually monitor Reddit. If you create a branded subreddit, you need a moderator. But even if you’re just commenting consistently, someone on your team must monitor mentions and respond timely.
Fourth, set up UTMs or tracking so you know whether Reddit is driving traffic or conversions.
And lastly, always follow Reddit’s guidelines. You definitely don’t want to be banned.
Cassie:
I know Christina Frunze got banned from Microsoft’s subreddit immediately. So I have to ask: in a marketing team, who should own Reddit?
Beth:
It depends on the goal. If you’re gathering insights, that can be passive — anyone on your content or research team can listen without engaging.
If you’re actually engaging — posting, commenting, interacting — that’s a community manager or social media specialist. Someone who understands brand voice and Reddit culture.
Ideally, leadership should help define “Reddit brand guidelines,” because how you speak on Reddit is very different from LinkedIn or your blog.
Cassie:
It’s its own beast.
Beth:
If you sound like AI on Reddit, they will call you out immediately. If you sound salesy? Same thing. It’s a very human, very authenticity-driven platform.
Cassie:
For Scheme, I set up a ChatGPT agent to monitor subreddits. You’re big into keyword research — have you been doing that too?
Beth:
One hundred percent. Half of the copy for my latest lead magnet came directly from accounting and SEO subreddit pain points. Those communities are full of literal, unfiltered customer language. It’s a goldmine.
Cassie:
We rebranded from ThoughtTree to Scheme, and I pulled copy directly from Reddit too — what people were actually saying about our category. I’m curious to see how that affects AI search visibility.
Beth:
It will. Reddit is full of real questions, and LLMs scrape those questions constantly. It’s not just about keywords anymore — it’s about phrasing and comparisons.
Cassie:
Always the 20-question game. So let’s talk practical steps. If someone wants to use Reddit for SEO or AEO, what’s the right way to start?
Beth:
If you’re doing social listening, start by defining your target audience. You need to know who they are and what they care about.
Then find the subreddits where they’re active. Use Reddit’s search, or use external tools.
Look at what questions people are asking. Treat it like keyword research — except better, because it’s verbatim language from real people.
Then map the insights into content formats: blogs, socials, carousels, videos — whatever you create.
Cassie:
Reddit hates self-promotion. How do you walk that line?
Beth:
Transparency first: say who you are, what you do, and why you’re sharing something. Build trust by contributing value beyond your own brand — including neutral or positive mentions of competitors when relevant. And above all, act like a human.
Cassie:
You’ve heard of the Dead Internet Theory?
Beth:
Yes!
Cassie:
Thoughts?
Beth:
It’s depressing. But if AI-generated content overwhelms the internet, the only solution is doubling down on true human interaction. Personalization, authenticity, community — Reddit thrives because it’s real people. If brands want to participate, they need to show up as real humans too.
Cassie:
Last question. If someone wants to run a Reddit experiment this week, what’s one tiny thing they can do?
Beth:
Go search your brand on Reddit. Just see what’s there.
If you have mentions — great. Use them.
If not — also great. You’re early.
And from there, decide whether Reddit should be part of your strategy. In my experience, almost every audience is on Reddit in one way or another.
Cassie’s Closing Remarks
This episode sparked something for you about Reddit, AI visibility, and how people are searching today — perfect. That’s exactly what I hoped would happen.
Here’s your experiment for the week:
Step 1: Search your brand name on Reddit.
Zero mentions? Clean slate.
A few mentions? That’s data.
Step 2: If you don’t have a Reddit account, make one.
Warm it up: leave a couple genuine comments, upvote threads, behave like a human. Redditors will sniff you out instantly if you don’t.
Step 3: Bookmark one subreddit your audience actually lives in.
Just one. Check it once this week and pay attention to natural phrasing and pain points.
Remember: Reddit is one of the few places left online where people still talk like actual human beings — which is exactly why AI models scrape it so aggressively.
If you want more experiments like this, subscribe to Found in AI. Episodes drop nearly every week, even when the holidays try to take me out.
And if you want help making your brand show up in AI engines, head to cassieclarkmarketing.com.
See you next week.
Want more insights like this? Subscribe to The Visibility Report, where I break down how AI engines interpret authority — and how you can show up in the results.
