TMTB: Narrative 180 -- What If AI Mode Actually Helps Reddit?

RDDT +6.8% today as they called out better demand trends in a Linkedin Post:

The data from Ahrefs, which tracks clicks a website is estimated to receive from unpaid (organic) results on Google’s SERP, points to a big increase in June traffic, while every other website is declining. This data jives with SensorTower data that is showing an uptick in June for the first time since late February - the data has steadily been declining since late February from 10%+ y/y growth to close to 0% y/y at the end of May and has now bounced back to 2.5% y/y in early June in just two weeks on tougher comps. (The comps get easier as we head through earnings in late July, so its likely we continue to see an improvement in the data).

What is going on here? Could it be another Google algo change helping RDDT? Or is something bigger and more permanent going on, something big enough to flip the narrative on RDDT completely and cause a DEFCON 1 for shorts: namely that AI Overviews/AI Mode is actually helping RDDT. Let’s dive in: