Google is testing a new mobile feature that will show Instagram and TikTok videos as search results. So far, this test surfaces a new “Short Videos” carousel, as opposed to including the videos in Google Stories or other areas. Some analysts are saying that Google is trying to “keep you on Google,” as opposed to sending you out of their ecosystem.
Doubtful. Google makes a living by getting you to click on ads. Full stop. All other conditions are secondary. So what’s this about? It could be a posturing gambit to use as a legal defense in the multitude of antitrust lawsuits Google is facing, or it could be that Google has quantified the number of searches it is losing directly to social video platforms and it wants the traffic back. What do you think?
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