TikTok has formally entered the search advertising market with Search Ads Campaigns. For the first time, marketers can select keywords, apply negatives, and optimise campaigns within the platform.
This development stands out because it runs counter to the broader industry trend. Google’s Performance Max and Meta’s Advantage+ have shifted advertisers toward black-box automation. TikTok, in contrast, is giving marketers back a level of control many assumed was gone for good.
TikTok is no longer just a content stream. It is a place where people actively look for information.
This makes TikTok more than an entertainment platform. It is positioning itself as an intent channel, one where discovery and decision-making converge.
For more than two decades, Google has defined what search marketing means. But user behaviour is fragmenting. Google’s own data shows that nearly 40% of Gen Z use TikTok or Instagram for discovery instead of Google.
TikTok is now shaping this shift into a structured ad product. The difference lies in format: where Google search is text-led, TikTok requires creative that convincingly acts as the answer. For marketers, this reframes the task from keyword matching to creative alignment with intent.
Initial case studies highlight the potential for efficiency:
While TikTok is the source of these results, the trend is clear: search advertising inside social platforms can deliver measurable business outcomes.
TikTok’s move reflects three larger shifts:
For brands, the challenge is to adapt strategy without assuming that tactics from Google or Meta can simply be transplanted. This is a different model of search.
TikTok’s launch of Search Ads is more than an incremental feature. It represents the convergence of discovery and intent inside social platforms, and the most credible challenge yet to Google’s dominance in search behaviour.
For marketers, the opportunity lies not in copying search tactics from other platforms, but in rethinking how intent is captured when the format is video-first.
Search is fragmenting, and the rules of engagement are shifting quickly. Understanding where intent originates, and how best to meet it, requires a nuanced strategy.
If you want to explore what TikTok’s entry into search means for your category, Remarkable is already working with clients at the centre of these changes. Let’s discuss how to apply this perspective to your brand.
