‘I don’t know, TikTok it’ might just become the new Gen Z catchphrase for ‘searching’ things online, as studies suggest Gen Z (people born after 1997) prefer TikTok for online searches, according to internal data from Google, which was first reported by TechCrunch.
With attention spans shorter than ever, today’s generations want data faster than fast, faster than even Google can provide apparently.
While Google runs a lot of targeted ads, among the most relevant results in common searches, TikTok’s ‘For You’ page consists of a scrolling feed of videos providing a more instantly discoverable visual experience for users.
TikTok’s use of video is especially appealing to Gen Z users, who can quickly get information about everything they want to know about a particular trend, place or fashion.
Google has thus been reserved for the more serious information, or as a verification tool.
Enter Google’s new algorithm
Google is about to launch a new and large search algorithm update, called the ‘helpful content’ update.
The helpful content update will target websites that have a relatively high amount of ‘unhelpful content,’ that aims to game search engine rankings, rather than engage with and inform humans with something new.
Googles new algorithm aims to downgrade ‘low-quality content’ and make it easier to find content that is more authentic and less ‘programmed’ or ‘optimized.’
Google also showed off a new feature dubbed ‘Multisearch,’ which lets users search with a combination of text and photos, allowing for a more visual experience, as TikTok takes the Gen Z eyeballs.