Reddit Is the Second-Best Predictor of AI Visibility (Here's the Data)

50+ Reddit mentions correlates with 22.5 average AI visibility. Zero mentions: 1.4. That is 16x. Reddit is the second-strongest predictor of AI visibility in our 2,014-company dataset, behind only brand authority. And the relationship is not linear. It is a step function.

Want to see your Reddit presence and AI visibility? Run a free report at loamly.ai/check.

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The Reddit-AI Visibility Correlation

Across 2,014 completed brand reports (as of Feb 15, 2026), I grouped companies by Reddit mention count:

Reddit Mentions	Companies	Avg AI Visibility	Avg Brand Authority
0 mentions	469	1.4	8.6
1-10	480	3.6	21.1
11-50	565	10.4	51.3
50+	500	22.5	81.6

The jump from 0 to 1-10 is small (1.4 to 3.6). The jump from 11-50 to 50+ is massive (10.4 to 22.5). Reddit impact is nonlinear. A handful of mentions does little. Consistent, repeated presence is what matters.

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Why Reddit Matters to AI Models

Reddit holds a unique position in AI training data for three reasons:

Real user opinions. Reddit threads contain unfiltered opinions about products, services, and brands. AI models trained on this data learn which brands real users recommend. A Reddit thread titled "What CRM do you actually use?" carries more weight than a marketing blog post.

Discussion format reveals consensus. Upvotes and reply patterns show which brands have genuine community support. AI models can learn from this structure. A comment recommending HubSpot with 200 upvotes is a stronger signal than a comment with 3.

Google and AI platforms license Reddit data. Google signed a $60M/year deal with Reddit for AI training data. Reddit content directly feeds into the models that make recommendations.

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The Non-Linear Pattern

The step function matters for strategy. Here is the same data visualized differently:

Jump	From	To	Visibility Increase
0 → 1-10 mentions	1.4	3.6	+2.6x
1-10 → 11-50 mentions	3.6	10.4	+2.9x
11-50 → 50+ mentions	10.4	22.5	+2.2x

Each tier roughly doubles or triples the previous one. But the absolute gains accelerate. Going from 0 to 10 mentions gains you 2.2 visibility points. Going from 10 to 50+ gains you 19.

The implication: sporadic Reddit activity (a mention here, a thread there) does almost nothing. Sustained, consistent presence (50+ mentions over time) is what moves the needle.

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Reddit vs Wikipedia vs YouTube

Reddit is not the only off-site signal that matters. Here is how the three main authority signals compare:

Signal	Threshold	Avg AI Visibility	Companies
50+ Reddit mentions	500	22.5	500
Wikipedia page	327	24.0	327
YouTube presence	1,675	11.4	1,675

Wikipedia has the highest average visibility (24.0) but the smallest pool (327 companies). Reddit (50+) is close at 22.5 with a larger pool (500). YouTube has the lowest visibility (11.4) but is nearly ubiquitous (1,675 companies have it).

The strongest strategy: build all three. Companies with Wikipedia + 50+ Reddit mentions + YouTube almost always score in the top brand authority tier (81-100).

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How to Build Reddit Presence Authentically

Reddit hates self-promotion. The community actively downvotes and reports obvious marketing. Building Reddit presence requires a different approach:

Participate in your category subreddits. Answer questions. Share expertise. Be helpful without linking to your product. Over time, other users will mention your brand.

Encourage customers to post. When users share positive experiences on Reddit, that is genuine social proof. Prompt happy customers to post in relevant subreddits (but don't script their posts).

Create Reddit-worthy content. Original research, unique data, contrarian takes. Content that Redditors want to share. This article exists because of original data from 2,014 companies. That is the kind of content that gets posted to r/SEO or r/marketing.

Be patient. Building from 0 to 50+ mentions takes months, not weeks. The companies with 500 in our dataset built that presence over years.

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Honest Limitation: Correlation and Causation

I need to say this clearly: Reddit mentions may not cause AI visibility. Companies with 50+ Reddit mentions are almost certainly well-known brands with strong products. Their high AI visibility might come from the same underlying quality that generates Reddit discussion.

The brand authority scores support this interpretation. Companies with 50+ Reddit mentions average 81.6 brand authority. Companies with 0 mentions average 8.6. The Reddit mentions and AI visibility might both be symptoms of being a strong brand, not cause and effect.

That said, the mechanism is plausible. AI models are trained on Reddit data. More Reddit mentions = more training data about your brand = higher probability of recommendation. The causal direction likely runs both ways.

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Methodology

Data source: 2,014 Loamly brand reports (completed as of Feb 15, 2026).

Reddit mention count: Number of Reddit posts and comments mentioning the company, measured at report generation time.

Limitation: Reddit mention count is a point-in-time measurement. It includes both positive and negative mentions. A company mentioned 100 times in complaint threads would score the same as one mentioned 100 times in recommendation threads.

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Next Steps

1. Run a free report: loamly.ai/check. See your Reddit mention count and AI visibility.
2. Read the authority analysis: Brand Authority Is 26x More Important
3. See the full benchmark: 2,014 Companies, 85.7% Invisible

No marketing spin. Just real data about your AI visibility.