Startups are ruining Reddit with AI SEO slop

Startups are increasingly using Reddit as a source of training data for large language models (LLMs) by reverse-engineering posts to generate AI-driven content, resulting in nonsensical threads that are still being cited by LLMs. This trend is driven by the high cost of paid acquisition and the decline of traditional SEO strategies, leading companies to exploit AI SEO as a last resort. Many of these auto-generated posts on Reddit lack coherence and authenticity, yet they are being scraped and used as training data, creating a cycle of low-quality content. While Reddit was once a platform for genuine interaction and unbiased information exchange, the influx of AI-generated material is undermining its original purpose. There is little evidence of effective measures being taken by Reddit or LLM providers to curb this issue, unlike platforms such as Bandcamp, which have banned AI-generated content.