Reddit is rolling out a new AI-driven ad product designed to make campaign management easier, and potentially more effective. Called Max Campaigns, the new format uses machine learning to predict the value of every ad impression and automatically optimize delivery to the audiences most likely to convert.
In simple terms, Reddit is launching its own version of Meta’s Performance Max or TikTok’s Smart+ campaigns: fewer manual decisions, more automation, and AI-powered optimization running behind the scenes.
How Reddit Max Campaigns work
According to Reddit, Max Campaigns continuously adjust campaign settings in real time to improve results, automating:
- Audience targeting
- Creative selection
- Ad placements
- Budget allocation
But Reddit is making a deliberate distinction from other automated ad products. Instead of treating AI optimization as a “black box,” the platform says Max Campaigns will actually increase visibility into how and why ads perform.
“Where some automated campaigns on other platforms limit performance visibility, Max campaigns do the opposite,” Reddit explains. “Unlocking new creative and audience insights only possible with AI and Reddit Community Intelligence.”
The goal is not just better performance, but better learning, helping advertisers understand which communities, formats, and messaging resonate most with Reddit users.
Early results from alpha testing
Reddit says it has been alpha-testing Max Campaigns with more than 600 advertisers across different industries and business sizes, with promising early results.
One standout example came from Brooks Running, which used a Max Campaign to promote the launch of its Ghost 17 running shoe.
Over a 21-day period, the brand reportedly saw:
- 37% lower cost per click
- 27% more clicks
Without any manual optimizations during the campaign.
Across broader split tests comparing Max Campaigns to advertisers’ standard setups, Reddit says early testers achieved, on average 17% lower cost per acquisition and 27% more conversions.
Why this approach makes sense
Despite the “AI” label, these systems are fundamentally advanced machine-learning models, extremely good at pattern recognition at scale. By analyzing user behavior, engagement signals, and contextual data across Reddit’s platform, Max Campaigns aim to predict which users are most likely to engage with which ads, and serve them accordingly.
Given Reddit’s community-driven structure and interest-based conversations, this type of contextual intelligence could be particularly powerful compared to more follower- or graph-based platforms.
What’s coming next
Reddit also says Max Campaigns are quicker to set up, with fewer steps required, and can generate more platform-native creative. Upcoming features will include:
- AI-based video cropping to adapt videos from other platforms
- Expanded performance insights
- New Top Audience Personas, giving advertisers clearer views into who’s responding to their ads
Max Campaigns signal Reddit’s push to compete more directly with Meta, TikTok, and Google on performance advertising, while leaning into its unique strength: communities and conversations.
For brands already investing in Reddit ads, Max Campaigns could reduce hands-on optimization work while unlocking deeper insights into how Redditors actually respond to marketing. For others, this may lower the barrier to entry for testing Reddit as a serious performance channel in 2026.
Also Read:
Can ‘Tangle’ Fix the ‘Terrible Devastation’ of Social Media?
Follower Counts Have Never Mattered Less
YouTube Creators Can Now A/B Test Multiple Video Titles
.png)