Reddit gives old threads an AI narrated second life

Reddit is testing videos that use AI generated voices to read selected text posts and comments aloud. The feature presents a thread as a short video, with the spoken text highlighted on screen as the narration progresses.

Jay Peters reports for The Verge that Reddit is manually choosing which existing posts become videos. The experiment is available on the web for some users and is due to reach iOS and Android.

Each converted post offers a switch between “Read” and “Play.” In Play mode, AI voices narrate the original post and a selection of replies. A label beneath the video identifies it as a “Real conversation voiced by AI.” One example highlighted by The Verge turns an eight year old discussion about road trip board games into a roughly three minute narrated video.

From forum thread to background audio

The test reflects Reddit’s broader effort to make its content easier to consume as video and audio. In a recent earnings call, CEO Steve Huffman said the company was exploring ways for users to listen to posts in the background. He also pointed to the popularity of channels that narrate Reddit posts with AI voices.

Reddit spokesperson Rosa Kim describes the initiative as an early and limited test. The company wants to assess whether users find the format useful and whether it can present it in a way that still feels authentic to Reddit. It plans to start with selected existing posts and gradually add more.

The format could make long discussions more accessible for people who prefer audio or are unfamiliar with forum style conversations. However, automated narration may also create problems, including mispronounced names and terms, or the selection and interpretation of comments without the full context of a thread.