Google Will Show Short Videos From TikTok And Instagram In Your Search Results

Reports say that Google is testing a new search feature for mobile devices that would display Instagram and TikTok videos in their respective carousels. This move of the tech giant is proof of the growing interest in short videos.

The new feature is expanded based on a test feature that Google launched earlier this year, in which the personalized Discover tab on Google housed a carousel for Short Videos. Originally, this feature was focused on aggregating videos from Google’s platforms such as Tangi and YouTube, but the expanded version is said to include TikTok and Instagram videos as well.

It seems that Google is making this move with the hope to retain users who are killing their time on short-video platforms. Each time users click a short video in the carousel, the platform will direct them to the web version of the native platform instead of its app. This means users will more likely hit on the back button and go back to Google rather than spending unexpected, excessive time scrolling endlessly through other videos on the app.

A spokesperson from Google confirmed that the tech giant is testing the feature on mobile devices. Accordingly, however, the feature is in an early stage and won’t appear in every search query in the meantime.

For now, the Short Videos carousel remains completely separate from Google’s Stories feature that was designed for its Search app in Android and iOS devices in October this year. The Stories feature includes content from Google’s digital publishing partners like Thrillist, Bustle, Now This, Vice, USA Today, and Forbes.

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