How to Answer 'What Tool Do You Use?' Threads on Reddit

Short answer: solve the asker's problem in your first two sentences, say plainly in the same comment if you built, work for or are paid by any tool you mention, and name at least one alternative with an honest reason someone would pick it instead. Before you post, read the subreddit's rules. As of 2026-10-16, Reddit leaves much of the call on what counts as unwanted promotion to each community's moderators.

Answer the actual question first

"What tool do you use for X?" threads usually carry the details that decide the answer: budget, team size, what the person already tried and what broke. A good reply uses those details. A reply that could be pasted under any thread is not an answer.

Find the exact problem. What are they trying to get done, and what is getting in the way?
Answer it right away, even if the honest answer does not involve your product.
Add one concrete detail the thread does not have yet: a setup step, a limit you ran into, a trade-off.
Ask a follow-up question only if the answer would change your advice.

If your product does not fit their constraints, leave it out. A useful reply without your product in it is still a good reply.

What Reddit says about promotion in these threads

Rule 2 of the Reddit Rules sets the baseline:

“Participate authentically in communities where you have a personal interest, and do not spam or engage in disruptive behaviors (including content manipulation) that interfere with Reddit communities.”

Source: Reddit Rules, as of 2026-10-16.

Mentioning a product is not banned outright. Reddit's Help Center page for moderators says: “On Reddit, promotional content is not inherently considered to be spam.” The same page notes that some communities ban promotion entirely, while others use a 10% rule, where “only 10% of your posting and comment history in the community can be self-promotional in nature” (How do I keep spam out of my community?). That rule is a community choice, not a Reddit-wide one.

Reddit's Spam policy speaks directly to founders:

“If your contributions to Reddit consist primarily of links to a business that you run, own, or otherwise benefit from, please be thoughtful about the frequency of posting”

The same page says that “community moderators adjudicate what constitutes unwanted/spammy content in their communities” and that you can contact the moderators if you are unsure. So check the sidebar and pinned posts, and ask the mods when the rules are unclear.

Disclose your connection in the comment itself

Rule 5 of the Reddit Rules is short:

“Be authentic. You don't have to use your real name, but do not intentionally mislead others or impersonate an individual or entity in a deceptive manner.”

In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides cover nearly this exact situation. Example 8 under 16 CFR 255.5 describes an online community where an employee of a home robot manufacturer posts messages promoting the company's new product on the discussion board, and members do not know where the poster works. The Guides conclude: “Therefore, the poster should clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationship to the manufacturer.” (16 CFR Part 255, eCFR). The same section says material connections “can include a business, family, or personal relationship.”

Where the disclosure goes matters. The FTC's Endorsement Guides FAQ is blunt: “Listing your employer on your profile page isn't enough.” Put it in the comment, next to the product name. Plain words work:

"I built this, so take that into account."
"Disclosure: I work at Acme."
"Acme is a client of ours."
"A friend of mine runs Acme."

If AI drafted or edited the reply, Reddit's Manipulated Content and Misleading Behavior policy asks you to “be transparent and include a tag (or other form of indication) disclosing that the content was generated or modified by AI” to reduce confusion. Subreddits can have their own rules on AI content too.

Name the alternatives honestly

Someone asking for a tool wants to choose well, not to hear about yours. Naming alternatives makes your answer useful and makes your own recommendation easier to trust.

Name one or two other options and the situation where each one is the better fit.
Include the no-new-tool option when there is one: a spreadsheet, a feature already built into software they use.
Be specific about trade-offs: pricing model, setup effort, what the tool does not do.
Only claim what you have checked. If you have not used a competitor recently, say so.
Do not knock other products with claims you cannot back up.

An example reply

A made-up thread: "Freelancers, what do you use to keep track of unpaid invoices?" A reply that follows the steps above:

With a handful of clients, a spreadsheet with a due-date column and a weekly calendar reminder covers it. Once you are chasing late payments every week, you want something that sends the reminders for you. Disclosure: I work on Acme, which does that. Before you add anything, check whether your accounting software already has invoice reminders built in. If you mostly bill by the hour, a time tracker with invoicing saves you a step. What is the bigger problem right now, tracking invoices or getting paid on time?

It answers first, gives a free option, puts the disclosure right next to the mention, names alternatives with a reason for each, and ends with one question that would change the advice.

What to avoid

Replying from a second account, or asking friends to pose as unconnected users who happen to love your product. That is the misleading behavior Rule 5 prohibits.
Buying or borrowing accounts. Section 4 of the Reddit User Agreement says: “You will not license, sell, or transfer your Account without our prior written approval.”
Pasting the same reply across threads. Reddit's moderator guidance lists “Repeatedly posting the same or similar comments in a thread, community or across communities” as behavior that may be considered spam.
Letting automation post at volume. The Spam policy names “Programming a bot that continuously promotes specific products or services within a community or across many communities” as a violation. Whatever drafts a reply, each comment should be a real, disclosed answer to the thread it sits in.
A bare link. If the comment does not answer the question without the click, it is not an answer.

What this does not cover: this is not legal advice. The FTC guidance quoted here applies to US advertising, other countries have their own rules, and a subreddit's rules can be stricter than Reddit's. Policies change, so check the linked pages before you rely on them.

Agent Agency is software that learns your product from a link and runs AI agents that promote it in online communities.