TikTok Search Ads: when search changes ground

tiktok search ads

A profound shift in search behaviors

“TikTok is no longer just an entertainment platform, it has become a discovery and decision engine.” , TikTok, What’s Next Report

Search no longer systematically starts on Google. It begins where attention is already captured.

Today, more than 40 % of US internet users say they have already used TikTok as a search engine. This trend is even more pronounced for everyday and inspiration-driven use cases:

  • Recipes: 36 %
  • Music: 35 %
  • DIY and home improvement: 34 %

Among younger generations, the shift is even more significant:

  • 64 % of Generation Z use TikTok as a search engine
  • Nearly 10 % of them prefer it to Google
  • 49 % of Millennials also say they search on TikTok

“For younger generations, search is visual, contextual, and human.” , Industry analysis, digital marketing

TikTok responds precisely to this expectation: immediate, video-based answers, delivered by creators perceived as credible.

A direct impact on traditional search engines

 

This shift is not marginal. It is structural.
According to Gartner, up to 25 % of searches on traditional search engines could disappear by 2026, to the benefit of:

  • social platforms such as TikTok
  • generative AI (ChatGPT, conversational assistants, etc.)

“Search is shifting from a link-based model to an experience-driven model.”

Gartner, Future of Search

Google itself has identified this threat. In 2023, TikTok tested the integration of Google Search directly into its interface, a clear sign that the boundary between search engine and social platform is starting to disappear, even though no large-scale rollout has taken place yet.

TikTok becomes a full-fledged SEA lever

As search behaviors shift, advertising investments naturally follow.
TikTok now enables SEA through Search Ads Campaigns, a format designed to capture intent at the exact moment it is expressed.

The numbers confirm this momentum:

  1. 57 %
    of TikTok users use the search feature
  2. 25 %
    perform a search within 30 seconds of opening the app²

In other words

intent is immediate, contextual, and highly actionable.

Search Ads Campaigns: capturing intent at the key moment

Search Ads Campaigns allow advertisers to deliver their sponsored videos directly within TikTok search results, as close as possible to user demand.

“Being visible at the exact moment a user formulates a search means maximizing relevance and media performance.”

Sectors performing particularly well in France:

  1. 1
    Commerce: Beauty, Fashion, Retail, CPG
  2. 2
    Entertainment and Media
  3. 3
    Travel
  4. 4
    Local and professional services

Choosing the right keywords: the foundation of performance

Keywords are the backbone of an effective Search Ads Campaign.

✓

Recommended best practices

  • ✓

    Minimum of 20 keywords per ad group

  • ✓

    Thematic grouping of keywords

  • ✓

    Strict consistency between query, creative, and message

“On TikTok, creative relevance is just as important as semantic relevance.”

New tools and features available

TikTok has made significant investments in advanced tools, often powered by AI, to maximize the performance of Search campaigns.

1

Keyword suggestion tool

  • ✓

    Monthly impression estimates

  • ✓

    Suggestions for complementary keywords

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    Recommendations based directly on your ad creatives

2

Advanced AI features

Automated keywords
After manually defining your keywords, this option enables:

  • ✓

    automatically expanding reach

  • ✓

    capturing relevant queries close to the original intent

3

Smart Multi-Text Ads

  • ✓

    Up to 5 different captions per creative

  • ✓

    TikTok’s AI automatically tests creative and text combinations

  • ✓

    The most relevant version is served based on each user’s query

TikTok Search: not just B2C, but a cross-sector lever

Contrary to common belief, TikTok Search is not limited to purely B2C brands or impulse-driven products. The platform now captures informational, comparative, and local intents, opening up opportunities across many sectors, including high-value industries or those with long decision-making cycles.

In short, when intent exists, the platform matters less than the moment it is expressed.

Obvious B2C sectors, but already highly mature

  • ✓

    Retail and e-commerce (Beauty, Fashion, Home and Garden)

  • ✓

    Media and Entertainment (radio stations, cultural events, exhibition venues)

  • ✓

    Tourism and Leisure

  • ✓

    Mobility and urban services (parking, transportation, local services)

Why activate TikTok Search now?

  • • Search is already shifting
  • • TikTok captures intent at the moment it is expressed
  • • Costs are still competitive
  • • Google itself sees the threat
  • • B2B fully belongs here, with the right approach
  • Brands that master TikTok Search early will gain a lasting strategic advantage

As a marketing agency, our role is to support you through this transition, where search is no longer limited to a single engine but expressed through behaviors, contexts, and key moments.

We help brands identify the intents that truly matter, choose the right touchpoints, and turn search into a performance lever, even on still underexplored territories such as TikTok Search.

Whether it is about awareness, demand generation, or pure performance, our approach is built on a strong conviction:
value is not created by platforms themselves, but by the ability to capture intent at the right moment, with the right message and the right format.

What if we analyzed the potential of TikTok Search for your brand together?

Test TikTok Search before saturation and build sustainable strategies within a rapidly evolving ecosystem.

Contact us