Should you post on Reddit or forums to show up in AI answers?
Only as yourself, and only where you would take part anyway. Google and OpenAI both have data deals with Reddit, which is why owners get pitched Reddit posting. But Reddit's rules ask people to participate authentically and treat repeated self-promotion as a spam risk, and the FTC's guidance says people should disclose their relationship to a company when they post about its products. Fake accounts or hidden promotion can get you banned and draw legal risk. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.
Why Reddit comes up
In a February 22, 2024 announcement, Google said it now has access to Reddit's Data API, which delivers real-time, structured content, and that this would help it understand Reddit content and "display, train on, and otherwise use it" in its products. On May 16, 2024, Reddit announced that OpenAI would bring Reddit content to ChatGPT and new products through the same Data API.
Those are the companies' own words about data access. Neither announcement says how much weight any single post gets in an answer, so a deal is not evidence that posting will get a business named.
What Reddit's own rules say
The Reddit Rules ask users to "Participate authentically in communities where you have a personal interest" and not to spam. Another rule asks people not to mislead others or impersonate an individual or entity in a deceptive manner.
Reddit's help page on spam speaks to owners directly. If your contributions are mainly links to a business you run or benefit from, it asks you to be thoughtful about how often you post, or to consider Reddit's advertising. The things it lists that may violate the policy include a bot that keeps promoting products or services and using multiple accounts to inflate a community's subscriber count, and it notes that each community's moderators decide what counts as spam there.
The FTC's position on hidden connections
The FTC's Q&A on its Endorsement Guides says an employee who is allowed to mention the company's products on social media "should disclose your relationship to the company". On reviewing your company's products on a consumer review site, it says: "You definitely should disclose your employment relationship when writing such a review." And when it is not clear that a brand belongs to the person endorsing it, the FTC says that fact should be disclosed.
The same page says the Guides themselves "don't have the force of law", but that practices inconsistent with them may result in law enforcement actions. That is the agency's position, not a ruling on any one post. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.
What to do instead
If you already answer questions in a local or trade community, keep doing it under your own name, say you own the business whenever you mention it, and follow that community's rules. Do not create extra accounts, or ask staff or friends to post praise without saying who they are. Effort usually goes further on what you control; the related answer on getting ChatGPT to recommend your business covers that, and the related answer on whether your business should have a Wikipedia page covers the same question for Wikipedia.
Sources
- Google, "Google expands partnership with Reddit" (February 22, 2024)
- Reddit, "Reddit and OpenAI Build Partnership" (May 16, 2024)
- Reddit, "Reddit Rules"
- Reddit Help, "Spam"
- Federal Trade Commission, "FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking"
Related answers
- How do I get ChatGPT to recommend my business?
- Where does ChatGPT get its information about a business?
- Can you pay to show up in ChatGPT or Google's AI answers?
- Should your business have a Wikipedia page?
GEO: recommended in AI answers
When a customer asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI who to call, the answer names a few businesses. GEO is the work of making yours one of them.