TikTok has a new visual search engine in the works to fuel its social commerce efforts
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 8:07 am
TikTok is set to boost its social commerce efforts with a new tool in its shopping tab.
This new feature will allow users of the social network to take photos and search the visual inventory of retailers present on TikTok using the content of the images as a reference.
The feature is being tested by the el salvador phone number data ByteDance subsidiary in select markets outside the US, AdWeek has learned exclusively .
Pinterest, Google, and Bing have long had visual search engines , and Meta began experimenting with a similar feature on Instagram Shop in June 2021. However, adoption of such features in the US is still relatively small, though it is gaining in popularity.
The percentage of adults across the pond who regularly use visual search engines climbed to 8.2% in February 2023 (up from 3.8% in April 2020), according to data from Bizrate.
TikTok's new visual search could spur social commerce on the social network
Insights company Watchful AI was the first to spot image search being used on TikTok. And if it eventually becomes widely available, it could give wings to TikTok Shop, which is still in beta.
Social commerce, which already boasts of being extraordinarily common in Asian markets, is struggling to take off in the US. Initiatives targeting TikTok Shop in the UK have also suffered delays. And currently, the bulk of social commerce revenue on TikTok is anchored in pre-recorded videos rather than livestreams.
This new feature will allow users of the social network to take photos and search the visual inventory of retailers present on TikTok using the content of the images as a reference.
The feature is being tested by the el salvador phone number data ByteDance subsidiary in select markets outside the US, AdWeek has learned exclusively .
Pinterest, Google, and Bing have long had visual search engines , and Meta began experimenting with a similar feature on Instagram Shop in June 2021. However, adoption of such features in the US is still relatively small, though it is gaining in popularity.
The percentage of adults across the pond who regularly use visual search engines climbed to 8.2% in February 2023 (up from 3.8% in April 2020), according to data from Bizrate.
TikTok's new visual search could spur social commerce on the social network
Insights company Watchful AI was the first to spot image search being used on TikTok. And if it eventually becomes widely available, it could give wings to TikTok Shop, which is still in beta.
Social commerce, which already boasts of being extraordinarily common in Asian markets, is struggling to take off in the US. Initiatives targeting TikTok Shop in the UK have also suffered delays. And currently, the bulk of social commerce revenue on TikTok is anchored in pre-recorded videos rather than livestreams.