TikTok comes for Google as it quietly rolls out image search capabilities in TikTok Shop
TikTok Appears to be Interested in Challenging Google’s Dominance in Search
The feature, which was first spotted by X user Jonah Manzano, is available to all users in the United States and Southeast Asia. Users who have access to the new feature will see it in the form of a camera icon in the search bar in TikTok Shop.
Say you’re at a restaurant and really like the plate you’re served on. You could open up the TikTok app and snap a picture of it to find similar items available for purchase on TikTok Shop. Or say you’re online shopping and find a top you like that’s too expensive. You could save the image and then upload it to find something similar with a cheaper price tag.
While you have always been able to search for specific items on TikTok Shop, you no longer have to rely on textual descriptions. The ability to use image search for shopping is something that Google has offered for years with Google Lens, its visual search tool. Image search is also currently offered by Amazon, another tech giant that TikTok is looking to compete with.
SHARE