In a recent report, SEO expert Glenn Gabe has highlighted a significant issue in the world of SEO. On May 5, 2025, Gabe pointed out something that could have a major impact on website owners: Google’s surprising silence regarding Reddit’s aggressive rollout of AI-powered translations.
Reddit has been translating vast amounts of data and content using AI technology but Google has yet to make any public statements or take action against it, despite the fact that many in the SEO community have been closely watching for any updates on this issue.
This silence has raised an important question for SEO professionals and site owners: should they follow Reddit’s lead and adopt AI translation, or could this be a risky move that Google might eventually penalize?
The Reddit Experiment That Defied Expectations
“Surely there would be some action taken by Google, right?” Gabe questioned in his comprehensive analysis published on May 5, 2025.
The numbers are staggering: 2.3 million URLs ranking in France and 2.4 million in Spain, all containing AI content. According to Gabe’s research, Reddit is translating content into more than 20 different languages using AI, potentially representing tens of millions of translated URLs across the web.
What makes this situation particularly tense is that Google has historically taken a hard stance against auto-translated content.
As Gabe notes in his writeup, “Using machine translation in the past has historically been a very risky thing for site owners to do from a Google standpoint.”
Many websites have received manual actions or been devastated during spam updates for employing similar tactics. Yet Reddit continues to surge in search visibility across multiple countries.
“Totally Sanctioned” by Google? Reddit’s Bold Earnings Call Claims
Perhaps the most revelatory finding in Gabe’s investigation stems from Reddit’s quarterly earnings call. Gabe reports that during this call, Reddit executives made the claim that their AI translation strategy was “totally sanctioned by Google.”
“Reddit HEAVILY covered machine translation on its earnings call,” Gabe writes.
“They covered how they are expanding AI-translated content on how it’s driving visibility growth for them and even how Google is helping them with the project.”
More importantly, Reddit reportedly approached Google directly to discuss whether such massive-scale translation would be acceptable under their policies.
Gabe highlights an important moment from the call: “They literally approached Google… and Google presumably said it’s fine… Reddit even said, ‘it’s totally sanctioned (by Google).’”
That statement, said at around the 37:38 mark in the video shared during the earnings call, has raised eyebrows throughout the SEO world.
The Evolution of Google’s Position on Machine Translation
In his thorough investigation, Gabe reported what he calls the “Gabeback Machine”, his archive of Google’s historical communications regarding machine translation.
“Google has a long history of addressing auto-translated content and their stance has evolved over time.”
I’ve been meaning to write this for a few weeks, but I’m glad I held off. There was some new information that was important to cover. The post is long, but very important for site owners looking to scale via AI-translated content (or machine translation in general). Here we go ->… pic.twitter.com/Q72u1Rig2d
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 5, 2025
His research reveals a clear progression:
- In 2010, John Mueller warned that using auto-translations via Google Translate could violate Google’s guidelines
- In 2011, Matt Cutts published a YouTube video stating that Google’s spam guidelines for “auto-generated stuff can also apply to auto-translated text”
- By 2018, Mueller had somewhat softened this position, explaining that “intent matters” when it comes to translation methods
| The current “Scaled content abuse” spam policy which was introduced in March 2024, provides some clarity. The policy does not categorically ban auto-translated content but instead focuses on whether the content provides value to users.
“It is not just about auto-translating content. It’s about doing that where little value is provided to the user,” Gabe explains. |
A Warning Sign for High-Authority Publishers
In the aftermath of Gabe’s post, he reports being approached by several large-scale site owners asking if they could replicate Reddit’s strategy.
For site owners contemplating whether to follow Reddit’s lead, Gabe offers a cautionary perspective that he frames with a memorable film reference to “Marathon Man.”
“Gabe emphasizes the risk involved, especially for larger sites. “I’m referring to some large-scale sites with a footprint of 50-100M urls each. So their decision is an important one that comes with a lot of risk,” he notes.
Key Recommendations for Site Owners
In the latter part of his write-up, Gabe provides a site owner’s guide for those considering AI translations to scale their global reach. While Reddit may seem to be in the clear, he warns that others may not enjoy the same leniency.
Some key takeaways from Gabe’s analysis:
- Transparency matters, but size and partnerships may matter more.
- A/B testing translations on smaller sections may reduce risk.
- Avoid relying on AI translations alone; human review is still recommended.
- Monitor Search Console and visibility trends closely post-deployment.
As Gabe puts it, we may be witnessing “a major shift in how Google views machine translation,” but the lack of transparency is troubling.
“No comment from Google,” Gabe reports, despite repeated outreach. Meanwhile, Reddit’s translated content continues to rank and scale.
Key Takeaways
- Reddit has published tens of millions of AI-translated pages across over 20 languages.
- Google appears to be allowing and even assisting Reddit’s strategy which raises questions about policy consistency.
- Site owners seeking to replicate this face potential penalties unless Google’s stance is universally relaxed.
- No official comment from Google has been made despite direct queries.
- Glenn Gabe continues to monitor and report on this issue overall highlighting both opportunity and caution.
Dileep Thekkethil
AuthorDileep Thekkethil is the Director of Marketing at Stan Ventures, where he applies over 15 years of SEO and digital marketing expertise to drive growth and authority. A former journalist with six years of experience, he combines strategic storytelling with technical know-how to help brands navigate the shift toward AI-driven search and generative engines. Dileep is a strong advocate for Google’s EEAT standards, regularly sharing real-world use cases and scenarios to demystify complex marketing trends. He is an avid gardener of tropical fruits, a motor enthusiast, and a dedicated caretaker of his pair of cockatiels.