Reddit Launches Max Campaigns

Reddit has unveiled Max campaigns, a new automated campaign type aimed at simplifying setup, enhancing performance, and giving advertisers deeper insights into their audiences. The feature is currently in beta for campaigns targeting traffic and conversions.

The launch comes amid strong momentum for advertising on Reddit, driven by increasing daily active users and a notable rise in conversion activity. With automation now standard across most paid media platforms, Reddit is positioning Max campaigns as a tool that reduces manual effort while still providing visibility into audience behaviour and ad performance.

How Max Campaigns Work

Max campaigns are designed to automate many decisions that advertisers typically make themselves. Within parameters set by the advertiser, the system handles audience targeting, creative selection and rotation, ad placements, and budget allocation.

The technology behind these campaigns is powered by Reddit Community Intelligence™, which analyses data from over 23 billion posts and comments. This allows the system to predict the value of each ad impression in real time and dynamically adjust delivery based on ongoing performance, rather than relying on static rules or frequent manual updates.

In addition to automated delivery, Max campaigns offer creative automation options. Advertisers can generate headline suggestions using trending Reddit language, automatically convert images into platform-optimised thumbnails, and soon will be able to use AI-driven video cropping to repurpose existing video content from other channels.

Early Testing Shows Strong Results

More than 600 advertisers participated in alpha testing, with 17 split tests conducted between June and August 2025. Results showed an average 17% reduction in cost per acquisition and 27% more conversions compared to traditional campaigns.

For example, Brooks Running reported a 37% decrease in cost per click and a 27% increase in clicks over a 21-day campaign, all without manual adjustments. These early successes suggest that Max campaigns can improve efficiency while still providing meaningful engagement.

Why This Matters

Major platforms like Google and Meta have long pushed advertisers towards AI-driven campaign types that consolidate targeting, creative, and bidding. Options like Performance Max and Advantage+ are now standard recommendations for scaling campaigns efficiently.

Reddit’s Max campaigns follow a similar trend, but with a key distinction: they pair automation with clear insights into audience behaviour. While other platforms often present AI campaigns as a black box focused purely on outcomes, Reddit aims to provide context on who is engaging, what topics resonate, and how conversations influence responses.

This approach is embodied in Top Audience Personas, which use signals from Reddit communities and conversations to highlight patterns in real user engagement. These insights are not intended to replace targeting decisions but to inform creative strategy, messaging, and where Reddit fits within a wider media mix.

For advertisers wary of automated campaigns that prioritise efficiency over understanding, this additional layer of audience insight could be a significant advantage. It helps them balance automation with thoughtful engagement and creative testing.

Next Steps for Advertisers

Max campaigns are currently in beta for select advertisers targeting traffic and conversions, with wider availability expected in the coming months. Top Audience Persona reporting will roll out shortly after.

For advertisers already running campaigns on Reddit, it’s best to treat Max campaigns as a controlled test. Running them alongside existing campaigns can reveal where automation improves efficiency and where hands-on input—especially around creative and community fit—is still necessary.

Advertisers familiar with Performance Max or Advantage+ should expect similar mechanics, but Reddit’s signals are unique. The platform’s value lies in conversation and context, meaning creative testing and message alignment are likely to be more important than traditional audience tuning alone.

As with any beta, features and performance may evolve. Early adoption offers not just potential performance gains but also an opportunity to understand how Reddit’s approach to automated campaigns fits alongside other AI-led advertising strategies in a broader media plan.