Why Gen Z Uses TikTok as a Search Engine, and Why You Should Too.

All humans eat food. Whether it’s learning how to bake banana bread or finding a good restaurant, I’ll bet that you’ve used a search engine at some point to make or find good food.

Maybe you’ve looked at Maps to find a restaurant and had to surf through reviews or low quality images to tell if a place is good.

Or you’ve Googled it. But sometimes you have surf through a few links before you find the answer you’re looking for.

Another option is YouTube. But usually you might have to sit through a 5-10 minute video to get to the point.

Now what if I told you there a highly visual search engine with location-based features that could get you answers in 30 seconds with opinions from real humans? That could show you restaurants in your areas and give you the tldr in 15 seconds or show (not tell) you how good it is? Or give you a quick 5 step process to baking banana bread that cuts out the bullsh*t?

That’s Why TikTok has become a Search Engine.

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In September of last year, Prabhakar Raghavan, the SVP of search at Google,?said that “something like almost 40 percent of young people, when they are looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search, they go to TikTok or Instagram.” Now that doesn’t mean Google is worried that TikTok will replace them entirely.

Google is still better for real-time insights (“What is the weather today” or “what is the breaking new about Beyonce”) and robust database-like information (“show me Target’s 10K” or “how many planets are in our solar system”). And Google has the built-in search engine design to ensure that the top search results come from credible sources (i.e. backlinks from notable news outlets), whereas TikTok might be based more on view counts and key search terms.

But where TikTok destroys Google is quick “How-Tos” and recommendations search. And I think there’s a few reasons for that:

Trust

TikTok is inherently a trusted platform by many. And I believe that stems from being a platform built on discovery and authenticity. Users open the app with an open mind and most importantly, they are looking to learn from other humans in the world of ads and technologies. So it’s no longer about the influencers with a million flowers, but rather the “influence” of other ordinary humans. Historically, we called this word-of-mouth. TikTok is word-of-mouth at scale, one inside joke at scale, one friend group at scale, etc. And so would you rather take recommendations or learn something from ?10 blue links —?with a bunch of barely labeled ads at the top, a big shopping widget, and a lot of links to Google services?- or other humans? Here's some examples.

Speed

How do you remove the signal from the noise? The reason why short-form content continues to challenge the long-form content of YouTube is that it gets straight to the point. Would you rather get your answer in 5 minutes or 30 seconds? Attention spans are at an all-time low and TikTok search allows you to easily swipe through several 30 second videos and get 4-5 different perspective in under a minute.

Fun

TikTok’s search experience is like a “choose your own path” rabbit hole. It’s more visually engaging and fast-paced than a Google or YouTube search. It shows instead of tells and probably shows more than you asked for (i.e. showing an obscure way to fix your sink you never thought of “). It’s just more fun.

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That doesn’t mean it’s perfect though. Like many features of TikTok, Search blossomed organically simply by the willpower and trust of its users. It’s more like the Wild Wild West. Unlike google, which revolutionized search engines by building a credible back link system that largely ensured that the top links would be relevant and helpful, TikTok probably has more room for growth when it comes to search for two key reasons.

TikTok is a user generated content engine - as a voice of the people, that can also mean at times that misinformation or info without credible sources can be spread fast. There aren’t official news networks, there are self-proclaimed news anchors. There aren’t always degree holding history experts, there are often just people with strong opinions. Quality content can often get mixed in with less credible content. And so the accuracy of information may not be as reliable.

Second, it’s unclear if TikTok has developed a robust foundation for choosing the order that content shows up in search results. Is it based on keywords? View count? Credibility of the poster? If you search for “how to Parallel Park”, you’ll find videos with 8M views and some with thousands. You’ll find posts from people with 3M or 2K followers. It really ranges. The key to becoming a dominant social search engine will be ensuring the most relevant, quality, credible content always shows up at the top of the search results.

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TikTok probably won’t replace Google as a search engine. But I think platforms like YouTube, Yelp, or Google Maps, which people used to use for recommendations or how-to-learning videos, are definitely threatened by the rise of TikTok.

Simply put, there’s no better platform to show you the 5 different ways to clean a carpet. Or give you a rec of the next movie you should watch. Or pick out the next restaurant you will eat at when you visit a small town in New Mexico or Kazakhstan.

TikTok is a formidable and growing search engine and one that you should absolutely use for quality, speed, and fun.

Hi I'm Neal! I created the Find Gen Z Series to give a Gen Z perspective on our rapidly changing world of social media, creator economy, AI, and more. If you liked what you read, subscribe below.

All opinions are of my own and not of my employer.