Does Google have anything to worry about? If you are still doing your research on the famous search engine, we have bad news: you are no longer “in the know”.
Indeed, young Internet users are abandoning the iconic search engine. They are increasingly looking for their answers on ChatGPT and on TikTok. The social network is particularly popular with Generation Z. They see it as a faster, more practical and more precise search engine.
TikTok, a better search engine for young people?
In the United States, two thirds of users use TikTok as a search engine according to a presentation of the social network to advertisers relayed by the Wall Street Journal. At the beginning of this year, an Adobe Express study stated that one in ten young people now prefer the TikTok search engine to that of Google. Today, the Chinese social network can boast of recording 3 billion requests every day. And a large part of them are done by people born after 1995.
Young Internet users are clear: TikTok provides better answers to their questions, more quickly. If you need a tutorial on how to properly wrap your Christmas presents, are looking for a cooking recipe or a hairstyle idea for the holidays, there is TikTok. The good thing about ByteDance’s social network is that the videos posted rarely exceed more than a minute. Everything, right away. Especially since users find the content posted on TikTok (and therefore the answers to their questions) more authentic. At least, they seem like it.
In addition, the TikTok algorithm is highlighted. Some users feel that they no longer really need to do their research themselves since the social network itself offers suitable ideas in their “For You Page”.
But like everything, you should not take TikTok’s answers as the absolute truth. It is necessary to watch at least several pieces of content, to make sure that they are not sponsored videos and to complete the search with a quick trip to Google. Because the ByteDance social network is also adept at misinformation. It is therefore necessary to qualify its use.
Despite an increasingly strong appeal for searches on TikTok, Google continues to dominate the search engine market with 90% market share. But we imagine that the giant will sooner or later have to adapt to better meet the expectations of its users.
