Search engines didn’t disappear — they moved.
TikTok is essentially the new Google. With Gen Z’s love for the 15-second visuals, paired with the hyperspecific algorithms, TikTok’s search results are better than those of Google.
One in five Americans got their news from TikTok in 2025 according to a Pew Research study, meaning information intake is clearly making a change. And, honestly? It’s for a good reason.
The shift from Google to TikTok is beneficial because it delivers more accessible, visual and user-driven information that better matches how younger generations consume content.
The internet’s growing reliance on AI has led to a decline in Google’s once-trusted reliability. Google recently changed its algorithm to have AI-generated results at the top of the page, instead of its previous method of showing an excerpt of the most relevant source.
The shift toward TikTok reflects a rebellion against this change — a preference for human-driven, experience-based content over AI-generated answers.
“I hate to admit it, but since I am on TikTok so constantly, I find out most of my news from there,” UM freshman Shannon Brickley said. “Whenever I want to know more, I will search it up and doomscroll.”
This is more popular among students than people think. In an interview with Fortune Magazine, Senior Vice President of Google Prabhakar Raghavan emphasized that TikTok is taking over in little ways, such as finding a place to go for lunch. According to their studies, 40% of young people go straight to TikTok or Instagram instead of a regular search engine like Google.
When looking for restaurants on Google, results are largely sponsored or have a massive number of reviews from being around for so long. As a result, these older places are bumped to the top of the search regardless of the quality of the food.
Even the UM student go-to coffee or matcha classic, Honey Veil, is being underserved on Google. While it doesn’t come up on the first page of any search engine for coffee shops around UM, it is one of the first coffee shops when searched on TikTok.
The difference isn’t just in the quality of the suggestion, but also the quality of the way information is communicated. TikToks are short-form videos, allowing for visuals, paired with information that takes little to no work to consume. Attention spans have been vastly shortened by the internet, so TikTok’s entertaining approach to information is more aligned with how information is naturally consumed now.
TikTok’s personable, young and entertaining approach is beginning to give Google competition for the best search bar. Google is not being erased, but as people evolve their habits and Google declines in its content. Its dominance is fading, leaving TikTok to be the future of search.