These days, “Google it” no longer has that same magical, all-knowing ring it once did. I know it. You know it. And Google knows it, which is why it's trying to bring Search into the future.
What happened: Google announced that it’s testing updates to Search and Maps that will push its flagship tools in a “visual-forward” direction, including:
- The ability to search using a combination of images and text simultaneously, (imagine uploading a food photo and finding where you can get the dish nearby).
- New augmented reality capabilities for Maps, including (in a blatant pander to Gen Z) a feature called Neighbourhood Vibes that will give users a “vibe check” for locations (in other words, highlights of the best local attractions).
- People searching for their next vacation will see photos from the destination in a format similar to Instagram Stories along with links to local guides.
Google also wants to revamp how Search ranks results so that instead of links simply getting worse as you go on, you’ll get slightly different results about the same or an adjacent topic.
Why it’s happening: Google Search is pivoting from text to images for the same reason Instagram pivoted from photos to videos: TikTok is eating a growing chunk of its market share.
- A recent survey found that 40% of Gen Zers prefer to use apps like TikTok over Search to discover information about things like restaurants, stores, and travel.
Google sees these changes as necessary to compete in an internet environment that is increasingly focused on visual information and hyper-targeted recommendations.
Why it matters: The distinction between social media and other Big Tech apps is blurring as everyone clones each other’s most engaging features, all in service of keeping you scrolling.