The internet is already flooded with AI-generated spam. Google struggles to rank search results that show helpful content instead of AI-written web pages full of repetitions and clichés. Social networks are filled with AI images and links to bot farms that absorb all attention. Now, AI agents are set to take over marketing too. Astral is targeting Reddit first.
A start-up released a promotional video explaining how AI agents can handle marketing 24/7. Users only need to provide some information to the agent, which can then autonomously navigate Reddit as if it were a human. By taking screenshots of individual pages, an AI model can analyze the images and interact with the page. Other companies like Anthropic and Google have demonstrated similar capabilities.
At Astral, the AI agent doesn’t just perform any task the user assigns. Instead, it automatically creates marketing posts on Reddit. The AI bot even finds a suitable subreddit and writes an ad that sounds human, according to founder Savannah Feder. A “human-in-the-loop,” or a person who reviews and approves the posts, seems unnecessary.
Real people on Reddit might not be thrilled about this development. About two years ago, users successfully protested against the platform’s plans to charge for API access, which would have made moderators’ work more difficult. They sometimes use third-party services connected via API.
It remains to be seen how effective Astral’s posts will be. Looking at LinkedIn, where AI-written posts dominate, the outlook isn’t promising. Platform operators, including Google, are generally aware that automated AI content is problematic. That’s why using Reddit’s API for this purpose is prohibited. The same goes for platforms like X and Instagram. Savannah Feder also notes on X that using the browser is much easier and cheaper than using the API.
Captchas don’t stop AI bots either. However, they don’t prevent humans from using AI to write posts and then preparing them for the respective platforms. Currently, platform operators have no way to stop AI agents.
Astral is currently in a closed beta phase, according to the video. You can join a waiting list, and more users are activated weekly. Extensions to provide AI content for Instagram and TikTok 24/7 are planned. TikTok already offers advertisers the opportunity to use AI to present ad texts in a realistic style.