Reddit just dropped a new set of verification rules designed to weed out AI bots that are starting to act a little too human.

The platform is tightening the screws on who gets to access its Data API—and if you’re building bots that mimic real users, you might want to take a seat before reading the fine print.

Starting later this month, Reddit will require developers to label AI-generated bots clearly, especially if they interact in posts or comments.

This is part of a broader move to keep its communities from turning into uncanny valleys of chatbot responses.

The company’s also reserving the right to cut off access to developers who build bots that post AI-generated content without disclosure, or who use Reddit data to train models without permission.

Reddit says the goal is to protect the authenticity of human conversation on the platform—which, let’s be real, is part of what makes Reddit Reddit.

At the same time, they’re making room for more transparent AI use cases, like bots that answer questions or surface helpful links, as long as they’re labeled and aboveboard.

This comes on the heels of Reddit’s massive licensing deals with OpenAI and Google, where its content is being fed to large language models.

Those partnerships stirred up tension with the developer community last year when Reddit started charging for API access, leading to protests, app shutdowns, and plenty of subreddits going dark.

Now, it’s a balancing act: keep the community real, keep the AI integrations honest, and make sure nobody’s quietly farming Reddit for training data under the radar.

If you’re building with Reddit’s data, you’ll want to check your bot’s vibe—transparency is the new requirement.