Is TikTok Replacing Google? 51% of Gen Z Say Yes

Google seemed to have complete control over the search engine industry for two decades, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, it is facing some stiff competition from TikTok. Even though Google still controls a whopping 77.5% share of online search in the US, and an even greater proportion of 83.5% around the world, TikTok is giving the younger generations an alternative. Google itself has publicly admitted that TikTok may very well pose an existential threat to their search business.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 74% of Gen Z currently use TikTok as a search engine. When you combine TikTok’s recent search ads that it introduced, Google’s superiority seems less insurmountable than might have been the case otherwise. Furthermore, as many as 51% of Gen Z have referred to TikTok as their preferred search engine, and not just something that they use when Google doesn’t give them the answers that they are looking for.

When asked what their reason was for using TikTok instead of Google, Gen Z survey respondents provided three main answers. Primarily, they seem to like TikTok more because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up giving them video based answers instead of text based answers, with 69% selecting this option. 65% also stated that the answers they received were a bit more relatable, with 47% enjoying how personalized their answers tended to be.

Another interesting factoid is that 72% of Gen Z ended up buying a product after they saw it for the very first time on TikTok. This just goes to show that TikTok is taking Google’s place as a product discovery platform as well. Over 70% of Gen Z rely on influencers in order to decide which products they would like to buy. Hence, it stands to reason that they would prefer TikTok thanks to the immense quantity of influencers that are operating on the platform. Google might not be able to maintain its status if the current trend persists.

H/T: Hercampusmedia

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World