ECB economists turn to Reddit and AI to read investors’ mood
RDDT•Two European Central Bank economists used ChatGPT-5.1 to analyze more than nine million Reddit posts and created an indicator they say tracks retail investor sentiment sooner and more frequently than surveys.
1. Reddit sentiment indicator
The economists said their Reddit Retail Investor Sentiment Indicator reflects major market developments and is associated with next-day market returns, particularly during market downturns. They said it provides more timely, higher-frequency information on short-term market dynamics than survey-based indicators.
