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Gen Z are dumping Google in favour of social media apps TikTok and Instagram as their tool of choice if they need to look something up online.
Google Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan revealed at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference about how the search engine is pivoting to appeal to a younger audience.
"We keep learning, over and over again, that new internet users don’t have the expectations and the mindset that we have become accustomed to," Raghavan said, as per TechCrunch.
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"These users don’t tend to type in keywords but rather look to discover content in new, more immersive ways."
The Google Senior VP then revealed just how many Gen Zers are turning to social media for search queries.
"In our studies, something like almost 40 per cent of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram," he said, according to Insider.
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So, the search engine giant is shaking things up.
They're now including TikTok and other social hashtags in their search functions to keep up with the growing trend towards TikTok and bite-sized video.
Google also revealed other changes it plans to make to its search engine to appeal to a younger audience.
For instance, a new upcoming feature will allow users to pan their phone's camera over an area and 'instantly glean insights about multiple objects in a wider scene' thanks to Google.
"We're redefining Google Search yet again, combining our understanding of all types of information — text, voice, visual and more — so you can find helpful information about whatever you see, hear and experience, in whichever ways are most intuitive to you," Raghavan revealed in a blog post.
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He added: "We envision a future where you can search your whole world, any way and anywhere."
In order to contend with the Gen Z traffic moving to social media, Google also revealed last September that it was working on deals to index TikTok videos and Instagram Reels within their search function, according to The Information.
But the web search giant will use artificial intelligence to give them the edge over TikTok and other social media apps.
AI will be used to analyse videos on the internet and direct users to richer search results.
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Raghavan added that Google's move to bolster video search functionality will enable users to get 'that level of deeper understanding'.
Featured Image Credit: Aleksandr Vorobev/Alamy. Edward George/Alamy.Topics: Google, Instagram, Social Media, TikTok, News