Yeah I'm thoroughly confused by OP because AMAs are a noticeable bungled opportunity on Reddit's part: They were attracting extremely high-profile people (Obama did one at one point), and now it's far less a preeminent part of the platform than it used to be.

The average user noticed no difference because AMAs just kinda faded into the background and became an unimportant part of the site.

AMA’s now are thinly veiled publicity events - like celebrities dialing into your local radio show to shill their latest project. There is rarely any feeling of actual engagement in modern AMA’s.