Bot

A bot (short for "robot") is an automated software program that performs tasks online without continuous human direction, often interacting with platforms much faster and at greater scale than a person could. On Reddit, a bot is typically an automated account that connects through the Reddit API to carry out functions such as moderating content, summarizing articles, converting units, fetching information, reminding users, or posting and replying based on triggers. Bots can be helpful and openly disclosed, or deceptive and used to manipulate.

Reddit's most prominent bot is AutoModerator ("AutoMod"), a built-in moderation tool—originally a third-party project from 2012 and integrated into Reddit in 2015—that lets moderators write rules to automatically filter, remove, approve, or flag posts and comments. Beyond legitimate utility bots, automated accounts are central to many Reddit controversies: malicious bots are used for spam, karma farming, vote manipulation, astroturfing, and coordinated inauthentic behavior, all of which Reddit's content policy prohibits. The prevalence of bots also fuels broader debates, including the Dead Internet Theory, about how much Reddit activity is genuinely human, and bot detection and disclosure remain ongoing challenges for moderators and the platform alike.