TikTok May Not Become the Next Big Search Engine as Usage Declines / Digital Information World

TikTok’s stunning rise has made it a massive competitor to the likes of Facebook practically overnight, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, the social media platform had bigger dreams than just being a social media app. It beefed up its search engine because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up providing more robust competition to Google, and many began to claim that it will replace traditional search engines.With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the usage of TikTok’s search engine has begun to decline somewhat. Back in 2022, 18% of Gen Z said that they use TikTok’s built in search engine. A year later, just 11% of the same demographic admitted to relying on TikTok’s search engine in any capacity whatsoever.

Younger millennials are also showing a similar trend with all things having been considered and taken into account. Their numbers have declined from 10% in 2022 to just 5% in 2023, thereby indicating that TikTok is seeing this worrying trend across the board instead of with just one specific demographic.

One company that is seriously giving TikTok a run for its money is Amazon. TikTok’s attempts to become the next big search hub are being hampered by its users abandoning ship, and Amazon’s stiff competition is only going to serve to make things even harder for the Chinese social media app in the coming years.

A major contributing factor to these declining usage figures is the series of regulatory setbacks that TikTok has been experiencing in the US. However, TikTok is still having an impact on the search engine industry, such as by forcing Google to make more dynamic web pages than might have been the case otherwise.

TikTok has also made changes to boost its search engine, such as by facilitating the creation of longer and more detailed video descriptions. It remains to be seen whether or not these efforts will bear fruit or only delay the inevitable collapse of TikTok.

 

 

H/T: Civic Science

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