According to Business Insider, TikTok and Google are currently exploring a new business partnership that would integrate Google search prompts into TikTok’s own search stream.
According to Radu Oncescu, an app researcher, TikTok users are now beginning to see a new prompt appear within their search results in the app. This comes with a CTA to expand their search on Google.
The company is experimenting with third-party integrations within the TikTok app, according to a spokesperson for TikTok, who also confirmed a test with Google. According to the spokesperson, the feature is not an ad unit and is currently undergoing global testing across a number of markets.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment on whether there was a financial agreement between the two companies as part of the partnership, telling Business Insider that the company had nothing further to share.
Considering TikTok’s popularity in the US and other markets, it is only logical for Google to consider new ways to partner with the app.
In more TikTok news, the app is experimenting with what looks like its latest push into e-commerce. According to Bloomberg, some users in the US are now beginning to see a new Shop tab appear in the app.
The new Shop tab, according to Bloomberg, is set between the “Following” feeds, giving it a premium placement in the app. The new tab is displaying a scrollable listing of what seems like random products, basically from China.
Encouraged by the success of similar push in the Chinese market, TikTok will hope its new e-commerce drive into the US markets will have similar impact.
TikTok is also testing a new feature called Shop Feed in the UK as it continues to experiment with new ways to integrate shopping into the app. The new test includes a new “Shop” tab that is swipeable from the main screen and is being shown to some users.
Reliable social media commentator Matt Navarra posted information about the new test via his Twitter page. According to the screenshot posted by Matt, some users are now seeing a third ‘Shop’ tab in the app, alongside the usual ‘Following and ‘For You.’
In February, TikTok started testing an in-app shopping feature. The truth is that in-app shopping has not performed up to expectations, as most social media apps expected.
The in-app test is being done quietly, and a selection of retailers in the US have access to a new in-stream shopping tab activated on their profiles.
