What the New 'Play' Mode Is
Reddit has begun rolling out a new feature that adds a 'Play' button to select text posts. When users click it, the post and a selection of its top comments are transformed into a vertical video. In this mode, AI-generated voices read the content aloud
while the corresponding text is highlighted on screen, much like karaoke lyrics. The videos are clearly marked with a disclaimer stating, "Real conversation voiced by AI," to ensure transparency. This test is currently limited to certain English-language communities and is being rolled out on the web first, followed by iOS and Android apps. The original text threads remain completely untouched and accessible via the standard 'Read' view.
How the AI Video Tool Works
The technology uses multi-voice text-to-speech AI to bring the conversations to life. One AI voice narrates the original post, while different-sounding voices are used for the comments, simulating a back-and-forth discussion. The 'video' itself isn't generating new imagery; instead, it uses a visual template that is essentially a screenshot of the Reddit thread itself, with words lighting up as they are spoken. For this initial experiment, Reddit is manually selecting which posts are converted, including some that are years old. One example shared publicly was an eight-year-old thread from the r/boardgames subreddit, which was turned into a roughly three-minute video.
The Strategy: Reclaiming Its Own Content
For years, a cottage industry has thrived on platforms like TikTok and YouTube by doing exactly what Reddit is now testing internally. Creators scrape interesting Reddit threads, use AI voices to narrate them, and pair the audio with unrelated video game footage to create highly engaging, monetizable content. This has meant that millions of views and the associated revenue were being generated from Reddit's content, but Reddit itself saw none of the benefit. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman acknowledged this trend, noting the rise of 'podcasts where people read Reddit content.' This experiment is a clear strategic move to bring that engagement back onto its own platform and capture the audience that prefers to listen to or watch content rather than read it.
Expanding Beyond Text-Based Browsing
This AI video feature is part of a broader push by Reddit to diversify how users consume its content. The company has stated it wants to reach people during moments when reading long threads isn't practical, such as during a commute, while exercising, or doing chores. By offering an audio-visual alternative, Reddit hopes to increase time spent on the platform and make its vast archive of conversations more accessible to a wider audience. This follows other recent moves into multimedia, including the introduction of video comments in June, which the company says now make up a significant portion of video posts. The overall goal appears to be evolving Reddit from a destination site into a more versatile content ecosystem that can compete more directly with video-first rivals.
Early Questions and Potential Hurdles
While the experiment is in its early stages, several questions remain. It's unclear what criteria Reddit is using to manually select posts for conversion, or whether users will eventually be able to opt out of having their posts narrated by an AI. There's also the challenge of accuracy; AI voices can struggle with the correct pronunciation of slang, usernames, or community-specific jargon. Furthermore, since Reddit is selecting which comments to include in the videos, the narrated version may not always reflect the most upvoted or representative replies in a thread. The ultimate success of the test will depend on whether users find the feature genuinely useful and if it feels authentic to the platform's community-driven spirit.
