---
title: Why it matters that TikTok is rivaling Google Search
description: Is Google Search about to start looking more like a TikTok feed?
---

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# [Why it matters that TikTok is rivaling Google Search](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/07192022-tiktok-search)

 Written by [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/jacob-cohen) | Jul 19, 2022 10:05:02 AM

Prabhakar Raghavan just dropped one helluva doozy.

At a conference last week in Colorado, the Google SVP [revealed](https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/google-exec-suggests-instagram-and-tiktok-are-eating-into-googles-core-products-search-and-maps/) that “almost 40% 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.”

#### **Here’s why that’s happening**

When you search Google for a “cool bar in Boston,” for instance, you’re greeted with 125m results.

On TikTok, the same search will return quick, fun clips of Boston bars. What would you rather: 125m results, or a catchy [12-second video](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRr7fo77/?k=1)?

#### **This may look bad for Google, but…**

… here’s why Raghavan should be sleeping well at night.

- Google faces a lot of antitrust scrutiny. The 40% stat will fit nicely alongside Google’s other [defenses](https://blog.google/competition/#facts), like that “55% of people… start product searches on Amazon, not Google.”
- Raghavan also has YouTube Shorts — Google’s TikTok clone with [1.5B viewers](https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/youtube-shorts-1-5-billion-monthly-users-1235294308/) — that he could incorporate into Search.

Google has already [worked on deals](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/google-seeks-search-deals-for-tiktok-and-instagram-videos) to index Instagram and TikTok clips. Between those and Shorts, you can expect parts of the Search experience to look more like TikTok in the future.

#### **What’s this all mean for TikTok?**

More scrutiny, probably. TikTok’s parent company is Chinese. Recently obtained [audio recordings](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access) confirmed Chinese management effectively have unfettered access to US user data.

- Despite this, users are spending [more time](https://www.profgalloway.com/tiktok-trojan-stallion/) on TikTok than Instagram and Facebook combined, or [91 minutes](https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/13/kids-and-teens-watch-more-tiktok-than-youtube-tiktok-91-minutes-in-2021-youtube-56/) per day for the average US kid.

It doesn’t take a genius to see why US officials are concerned about a Chinese company’s grip on an algorithm that owns so much of our time.

Now, with TikTok rising as a search engine of choice, things could get even more interesting.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/07192022-tiktok-search)

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