TikTok leads AI search in several key metrics
TikTok is outperforming the leading AI search platform in several key metrics, according to my new research collab with WARC Advisory and TikTok.
Here's what we learned:
🔎 US search users are more than twice as likely to be searching more frequently on social and video platforms like TikTok or YouTube than they are on AI platforms like ChatGPT or Perplexity.
🤖 60% of Gen Z searchers search on the leading AI platform weekly. That's huge! However, they are even more likely to search on TikTok, with 86% doing so weekly. To put that in perspective, 90% search on the leading traditional platform weekly.
🔭 Discovery is a huge factor in search, especially among younger adults. Older generations take a more straightforward tack, viewing search as a question and answer system. But younger adults approach search with curiosity, and exploratory search is a powerful motivator.
These findings come from a WARC survey of 1,016 US adults who search weekly.
The full white paper The Search Before the Search will give you the tools to:
✅ Transform your understanding of modern search behavior
✅ Analyze the generational search divide
✅ Leverage platform-specific search behaviors
✅ Master the 7 types of search intent
The study also features breakthrough behavioral science analysis by Richard Shotton, offering unique insights into search behaviors and needs.
A huge thanks to Lexi Wolf and Katie Sterling of WARC for inviting me to be part of the team for this project. This was my third WARC Advisory collab and my second with their client TikTok, and it's been a great partnership!
Read more of my work with WARC:
Unlocking Business Impact Through Personal and Cultural Relevance
