Brands Are Flooding Reddit With Fake Reviews So AI Chatbots Pick Them Up. Moderators Are Fighting Back.

Key points

• Reddit was the single most-cited domain by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini, and Google's AI Mode in May 2026, ahead of every news publisher and Wikipedia, according to Semrush data compiled for The Verge.
• Marketers are planting subtle promotional comments on Reddit specifically so AI chatbots repeat the brand mentions to shoppers.
• Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz told The Verge its systems keep search results 99% spam-free and that Reddit receives no special ranking preference.
• Moderators on r/SkincareAddiction, a skincare community with more than 1 million weekly visitors, now automatically filter posts mentioning brands caught running covert campaigns.
• A marketing tactic called AEO (answer engine optimisation, the practice of shaping what AI assistants say) is driving the surge in Reddit spam.

Earlier this year, a Reddit user asked members of a skincare community whether anyone had tried a particular hypochlorous acid spray, a mild antiseptic solution often used to calm acne. Dozens of replies came in. One, from an account called Primary-Taro4254, looked ordinary at first.

The commenter said they hadn't tried the original brand, but had been using a spray from a company called Honeydew Labs. They praised the formula's 0.02% hypochlorous acid concentration and noted the product carried a National Eczema Association seal of acceptance.

Then someone looked at the account's history.

Primary-Taro4254 had been praising Honeydew Labs across multiple unrelated threads, in multiple skincare communities, with the same helpful-stranger tone. A member of r/SkincareAddiction flagged the pattern publicly. A moderator banned the account and set up an automatic filter so every future Honeydew Labs post would be held for review. (Honeydew Labs did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Primary-Taro4254.)

Why does Reddit matter so much to brands right now?

Reddit has become the most-cited website in AI search answers. That single fact explains almost everything that follows.

For years, people added the word "reddit" to Google searches because it reliably surfaced real human opinions rather than SEO-polished marketing copy. Google took notice and started ranking Reddit threads more prominently. Then AI chatbots, trained to find authentic, conversational answers, began pulling from Reddit constantly.

Semrush, a search analytics company owned by Adobe, compiled data for The Verge showing Reddit topped every other domain in May 2026 for citations by ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, and Google's AI Mode search feature. Wikipedia didn't come close. Neither did news publishers or scholarly repositories.

The same data showed Google is now inserting AI-generated answer boxes far more often into shopping searches than a year ago, pushing AI-cited sources directly in front of people comparing products. As we noted on 24 July, AI summaries are keeping users on Google's own page rather than sending them to the sites being cited.

For a brand, getting a Reddit mention picked up by an AI answer is now arguably more valuable than a traditional backlink, the old-school currency of search rankings. Some SEO specialists say a simple mention is enough; no link required.

What does the new spam actually look like?

Subtler than the old kind, and deliberately so.

Maya Adivi, a moderator on r/SkincareAddiction who also has a marketing background, says posts now often mimic the open-ended, curious tone of someone typing a question into an AI chatbot: "How does everyone keep track of their skincare routine?" A wave of replies will then name specific apps or brands. Other posts adopt a slightly self-deprecating format: "I thought this product would be too harsh, but it turned out to be gentle."

One marketing agency reportedly claimed it had "hijacked" r/SkincareAddiction to promote a Korean beauty brand and boost its Google presence. Adivi found the thread, removed it, and added the brand to the community's blocked-keyword list.

"It's a lot more subtle, but we've become more sophisticated as well," Adivi told The Verge.

The practice has two names in marketing circles: AEO and GEO (generative engine optimisation). Both describe the same goal: shaping what AI assistants say about your brand. Nobody has quite cracked the formula yet, which means brands are trying everything, and moderators like Adivi are absorbing the cost of that uncertainty on behalf of every member of their community.

Should shoppers worry about what AI tells them?

Be sceptical when an AI answer recommends a specific product, particularly an unfamiliar brand.

Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz told The Verge the company's systems detect low-quality user-generated content and that Reddit receives no special ranking preference. "We have strong protections against manipulation across Search, including our AI features, and we've kept results 99% spam-free for years," Kutz said.

That is reassuring. But 1% of billions of searches is still a large number, and the moderators catching this activity are unpaid volunteers working in their spare time. Treat an AI product recommendation the way you'd treat advice from a stranger online: a starting point, not a verdict.

Common questions

What is AEO and why does it matter to me as a shopper?

AEO stands for answer engine optimisation, a marketing technique aimed at making an AI chatbot mention or recommend a specific brand when someone asks it a question. If it works, you might receive what sounds like neutral advice that is a covert promotion.

Are Reddit moderators paid to police this?

No. Moderators on most subreddits, including r/SkincareAddiction, are unpaid volunteers. They set the rules, review flagged posts, and handle bans in their spare time, with no compensation from Reddit.

How can I spot a fake recommendation on Reddit?

Check the posting history of any account that enthusiastically recommends a specific brand. If the same account praises the same product across unrelated threads or multiple communities, treat the recommendation with caution.