Quick answer: Over nine weeks, from May 13 to July 14, 2026, an espresso machine brand went from appearing in 16.8% of tracked AI answers to 29.0%. We ran a steady Reddit marketing program alongside that rise. Other brands in the category also climbed, and we cannot prove the program caused the gain.
What did this espresso brand need from Reddit?
It needed to show up when shoppers ask AI assistants which espresso machine to buy.
The brand sells a home espresso machine. Buyers in that category research for weeks and ask a lot of questions before they buy. Many of those questions now go to AI assistants, and those assistants draw on public conversations, including Reddit threads.
We set a baseline on May 13 by tracking a fixed set of buyer questions across AI assistants and recording how often the brand was named or cited.
What did Quimby do on Reddit?
We joined real conversations as the brand, answered questions plainly, and built a small community the brand owned.
- We posted 93 comments from the brand account across 13 communities, from coffee forums to general interest communities.
- We published 16 posts in a community the brand owns, so it had a home base for its own answers.
- Moderators removed none of the comments.
- We checked the tracked buyer questions every week so we could see which topics moved.
What were the results?
Visibility rose by 12.2 points, and the brand held most of that gain through the end of the window.
AI answer visibility is the share of tracked AI answers that name or cite the brand. It moved from 16.8% to 29.0%, a 73% relative increase. It peaked at 32.1% in week five and then held between 28% and 30%. When the brand did appear, its average position in the answer was 1.36, which means it was usually named near the top.
| Metric | Before | After | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI answer visibility | 16.8% | 29.0% | May 13 to July 14 |
| Peak visibility | 16.8% | 32.1% (week 5) | May 13 to July 14 |
| Share of voice in category | Not reported | 20%, second place | End of window |
| Visibility rank among tracked brands | Not reported | 4th of 17 | End of window |
| Brand comments posted | 0 | 93 across 13 communities | May 13 to July 14 |
| AI referral sessions to the site | Not reported | 539 (257 engaged, 47.7% engagement rate) | May 14 to July 14 |
Share of voice measures how much of the category conversation in AI answers goes to each brand. The brand sat second at 20%, behind a leader at 32%. The 539 referral sessions are visits to the brand’s site from AI assistants, measured in the brand’s web analytics, and one assistant sent most of them.
What do these numbers not show?
They show what happened alongside the program, not what the program caused.
Causation is not proven. Other brands in the category also gained visibility over the same weeks, and the brand still ranked fourth of 17. The window is nine weeks. Tracked visibility measures a fixed question set, not every question a shopper might ask.
What can a considered purchase brand take from this?
Three points held up for us.
- Measure AI visibility before you start. Without a baseline, you cannot say whether anything moved.
- Steady, helpful commenting is safe. Ninety three comments drew zero moderator removals.
- Report the category, not just your brand. A gain looks different when you can see that competitors rose too.
For a longer look at how steady commenting performs on its own, read our Reddit commenting case study.
FAQ
What is AI answer visibility?
AI answer visibility is the share of tracked AI assistant answers that name or cite your brand. We pick a fixed set of buyer questions, run them on a schedule, and count how often the brand appears. Because the question set stays the same, the number can be compared week to week.
Did Reddit cause the increase in visibility?
We cannot say that. Visibility rose while we ran the program, but other brands in the category rose over the same weeks, and we did not run a controlled test. We report the figures as what happened alongside the work. Treat the result as a promising pattern, not proof of cause.
How many comments did the brand post?
The brand account posted 93 comments across 13 communities between May 13 and July 14, plus 16 posts in a community the brand owns. Moderators removed none. The 13 communities ranged from coffee forums to general interest communities.
How long before a brand sees movement?
In this program, visibility reached its peak of 32.1% in week five and then held near 29%. One program is a small sample, so we would not promise a timeline to another brand. We would promise a baseline, weekly tracking, and an honest read of the category from the first week.
Ashley Rector is Founder and CEO of Quimby Digital, a social media and paid media agency for parenting, women’s health, CPG and consumer brands.