OpenAI and Reddit have formed a partnership that will give ChatGPT direct access to Reddit content, the companies announced. In return, Reddit users will benefit from new AI features powered by OpenAI's platform and models. OpenAI is also launching enhanced data analysis capabilities for ChatGPT.
As part of the deal, OpenAI will gain access to the Reddit Data API, allowing ChatGPT and "new products" to tap into Reddit's archive, such as current discussions in Reddit communities. The company hopes this will lead to better and more relevant responses from its AI models.
In return, Reddit plans to develop AI-based features for its users based on OpenAI's platform and AI models, though details of the planned features were not disclosed. Reddit will also become an advertising partner for OpenAI.
OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap described the partnership as a win-win for both companies, stating that Reddit content will provide ChatGPT with "uniquely timely and relevant information."
Reddit founder and CEO Steve Huffman said the integration with ChatGPT serves the goal of a "connected internet" and helps new audiences "find community on Reddit."
OpenAI noted in its announcement that co-founder Sam Altman is a Reddit shareholder, but the partnership was led by COO Brad Lightcap and approved by the independent board of directors.
With this deal, OpenAI has secured another key content partner for building an assistance and chatbot-based Internet platform that shifts from a search-and-find paradigm to a question-and-answer model that, if successful, will bear little resemblance to today's Web.
OpenAI is currently closing deals to determine who can participate in this chatbot ecosystem and in what form. In this light, Huffman's comment about a "connected Internet" seems off. If anything, deals like this are being made to carve out pieces of the internet, not to bring them together.
The Internet is becoming more closed every day, in part because other players like Google and Meta are also doubling down to capture and keep every user for themselves. Reddit's deal with OpenAI is just another step in that direction.
You can now interact with tables and graphs in ChatGPT
Alongside the Reddit partnership, OpenAI announced improvements to ChatGPT's data analysis functions, which will roll out to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users in the coming weeks.
Users can now directly upload files from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive without having to go through local storage, the company said. In addition to spreadsheets, text documents and presentations are also supported.
Video: OpenAI
ChatGPT can display data records in table form, and users can expand this view to full screen and ask specific follow-up questions about areas of the table or select suggestions from ChatGPT for more in-depth analysis, according to OpenAI.
The chart display is also more interactive: users can customize bar, line, pie, and scatter charts, choose colors, and ask specific questions about individual elements, according to OpenAI. The finished charts can be downloaded for use in presentations or documents.
