Headlines about TikTok gaining popularity (and trustworthiness) as a search engine, particularly among Gen Z, have been circulating for well over a year now. Google itself has made note of the shift: in 2022, a Google senior vice president said, “In our studies, something like almost 40 percent of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.” The reality is, searching on social media is often a more interactive experience than using traditional search engines (read: short videos), which makes it super appealing and digestible for young people. But of course, it’s not just TikTok that’s moved into the search engine conversation; all social media platforms young users frequent are now a contender for their searches. TikTok is a major part of the search engine discourse right now, though. A recent study by Adobe of more than 800 consumers and 250 business owners shows that 40% of consumers are using TikTok as...
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