Have generative AI chatbots had enough of Reddit‘s intense debates, far-reaching conversations, and sarcastic quips? A new report claims that the bots are now more likely to cite YouTube‘s library of detailed, long-form videos.
AI’s preference for YouTube-based content over Reddit threads is a marked departure from the previous norm. Last year, Reddit established itself as the most common host for sources cited by bots like ChatGPT. All of a sudden, Reddit got red hot. Its user base surged, and other platforms began testing products that mimic one of Reddit’s signature features: Its threaded comments.
Some of those comments were cited frequently by AI chatbots, but according to Adweek, the landscape is shifting. Large language models (LLMs) are becoming more adept at parsing videos, and YouTube happens to have the most expansive library of thoroughly researched, intuitively structured long-form explainer videos. As a result, data from AI marketing platform Bluefish shows that 16% of LLM answers over the past six months contained information from YouTube, compared to just 10% for Reddit.
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If platforms copied Reddit’s approach because they wanted more traffic from chatbots, will they now take a page out of YouTube’s book? Are we about to see yet another questionable pivot to video among the major players in Big Tech?
One could argue that the latest pivot has already begun. Apps known for short-form video, such as TikTok and Instagram, are now encouraging creators to go long as well. Longer runtimes lead to more content and more opportunities for AI citations, especially as the more advanced LLMs refer to videos more often than text posts.
Social media platforms are trying to figure out the best way to get as much inbound chatbot traffic as possible, but users’ overall interest in those referrals is less clear. Some studies, such as a September 2025 report from Similarweb, have found that chatbot referrals can be quite powerful for ecommerce hubs. Similarweb estimated that the conversion rate for visits referred by ChatGPT is 11.4%, compared with 5.3% for organic search.
On the flipside, a working paper from researchers in Germany found that ChatGPT converts far worse than traditional channels like Google Search. And consumers really don’t like it when they receive AI-generated results on organic search hubs — or at least that’s what the Pew Research Center claimed in a July 2025 report.
Perhaps other platforms will be able to match or exceed YouTube’s popularity as a chatbot source. Turning those preferences into a competitive advantage requires the chatbot users to buy in, however, and that’s easier said than done.
