Google Maps And Search Are Being Adversely Affected By Instagram And TikTok, Confirms Company’s Executive

Just when you thought the leading threat to Google’s YouTube was Instagram, here comes a new report that digs down deeper into another core issue that’s gaining attention.

Google’s top executive has recently highlighted how social media giants Instagram and TikTok are eating into the business of the firm’s core products. And by that, we mean Google Search and Google Maps.

These core services are definitely major revenue earners for the platform and that’s why the company is being more alert to the news than before.

According to the firm’s SVP for Knowledge and Information, Google has always faced threats from archrivals but seeing the way Instagram and TikTok are performing is a clear indication of how much business they’re eating from its core services.

There appears to be a huge growing preference for certain social media apps over others, not to mention the dominating role of videos being portrayed in the form of Reels and more. Moreover, it seems the younger generation is more attracted to such content and that’s running sales for others while proving to be a major threat for Google, as revealed by the executive during one industry event recently.

In terms of discovery purposes and general exploration, more users were tuning into TikTok and Instagram over Google’s Search and Maps. And that just goes to show that younger minds aren’t entering the digital world with too many expectations. Instead, they’re busy discovering what’s new and trending with zero mindset of how a certain thing should appear or behave.

In addition to that, the executive outlined how so many internet users have different queries and when they’re on the search, you won’t find them entering any keywords. Instead, they’re on the hunt for more content that can be explored in innovative ways.

The perfect example provided by the Google executive was how people no longer look for happening lunch spots through Google Search or Maps. Instead, they’re going to be doing the same on Instagram and TikTok.

Google says they even surveyed such individuals and were shocked to find how nearly 40% of them showed a great reliance on both Instagram and TikTok. And the age groups of those studied were between 18 to 24.

Similarly, it’s interesting to note how most searches, nearly 55% are now being done on Amazon, instead of Google. And while the exact findings of the survey are yet to be released to the public, Google sees this as a major threat to its business.

The issue might not appear huge to many but for Google, they’re losing out on significant business thanks to other competitors who fail to use the platform’s core services.

This means fewer people are tuning in and there are fewer ads being sold against such queries too. And the thought of so many people no longer beginning their journey with Google is just sad.

All of Google’s hard work and efforts related to curating and recommending different places for users like travel hotspots and restaurants could well go in vain, not to mention the various tools for discovery located in Google Maps too.

People seem to be keener on getting accustomed to search forms that are visually appealing. And that means we could well bid farewell to the boring text-based keyword searches soon.

With time, Google hopes to bring better change into its Maps and that’s why it used AI-powered technology to achieve just that and more. In the same way, the firm says they’re working on a range of other improvements for its Google Maps like more immersive displays and perhaps a 3D model for maps as well.

Seems like image and text being combined is the only way to move forward, keeping in mind today’s changing trends.


H/T: Fortune Brainstorm Tech

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