Is the phrase ‘just Google it’ useless? How TikTok, Pinterest and AI are difficult Google’s crown

For twenty years, “just Google it” was the default reply to virtually the whole lot.

Stuck on homework? Google. Need a recipe? Google. Worried your bizarre rash could be lethal? Google — then panic.

But for Gen Z, that once-automatic reflex has began to shift. It’s not that they’ve deserted Google altogether; it’s simply now not the primary port of name.

Why wade by means of a swamp of Search engine optimisation-stuffed weblog posts and adverts when TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and now AI can serve up on the spot, human solutions that really feel extra genuine?

If Google is the dusty, information-filled library, TikTok is the good friend who whispers the precise solutions throughout class.

Type “best mascara” into Google and also you’ll get an infinite scroll of internet affiliate marketing articles.

Type it into TikTok and also you’ll see clumpy lashes, smudge checks, and somebody crying in actual time as a result of the waterproof formulation actually works.

According to Dr Lauren Rosewarne, media scholar on the University of Melbourne, a part of the attraction lies in how youthful audiences devour info in shorter bursts.

“Factors include lower attention spans along with young people being disproportionately drawn to content that seems innovative, novel, entertaining and personality driven.”

“Gen Z trusts influencers and content creators… as recommendations feel like advice from friends rather than robotic algorithm responses,” mentioned Maria Padisetti, CEO and co-founder of Digital Armour.

She added that, “for a generation raised on YouTube tutorials and Instagram stories, content consumption is driven by visuals rather than lengthy articles.”

Layer AI into the combination, and the cultural shift appears everlasting.

Why Google “how to write a breakup text” when ChatGPT can draft three variations in seconds?

AI feels quicker, extra direct, and extra private than Google’s infinite blue hyperlinks.

But whereas AI instruments can really feel extra environment friendly, they’re unreliable.

Unlike information organisations, which confirm info by means of sources and editorial oversight, generative fashions can produce solutions that sound assured however aren’t right.

As Dr Rosewarne places it, “Follow the money. Ask yourself who is profiting from how and where you search for information.”

It’s a reminder that algorithmic solutions, whether or not from AI or social feeds, are hardly ever impartial, and credibility nonetheless relies on human judgment.

Instagram has turn out to be the temper board of alternative for the whole lot from brunch spots to Bali itineraries.

Why learn a 2000-word Google overview when you may scroll a geotag and immediately see how the avocado toast appears beneath pure gentle?

Dr Rosewarne says this shift is as a lot cultural as it’s technological.

“Young people are often more media literate and able to discern opinion from fact than some adults, given that they’ve been navigating this space for the entirety of their lives,” she mentioned.

Google may inform you “how to pack for Europe,” however Pinterest will hand you a wonderfully colour-coded capsule wardrobe information full with outfit grids.

It’s a search fashion that feels extra private — much less mechanical, extra human.

“Instead of thinking of one ‘large or monolithic’ search engine, we may need to accept that audiences both young and old will use AI + search engines based on the use cases,” Ms Padisetti mentioned.

“It’s no longer one-size-fits-all, search now fits into two categories: ‘I know what exists, take me there,’ which is Google’s strength, and ‘I don’t know what I need yet, help me explore,’ which is TikTok or AI’s strength.”

If TikTok is the after-dinner recap, X is the dwell broadcast.

From celeb scandals to pure disasters, X has turn out to be an area the place eyewitness movies and first reactions floor immediately, usually shaping how tales unfold in actual time.

It’s the identical platform that when let Donald Trump set the worldwide information cycle with a single tweet.

“We’ve certainly seen a discernible rise in conservative and misogynist thinking among young men, a trend that can be linked to certain social-media figures (think Andrew Tate, etc.) whose appeal is notably gendered,” Dr Rosewarne mentioned.

But Google insists it’s not being changed — it’s evolving.

“People are searching more than ever. AI is driving the most significant upgrade of the Google Search experience ever,” a Google Australia spokesperson instructed The Nightly.

“With AI Overviews and more recently AI Mode, people are able to ask questions they could never ask before, including questions that are often longer and more complex.”

According to Google, “people are increasingly seeking out and clicking on sites with forums, videos, podcasts, and posts where they can hear authentic voices and first-hand perspectives.”

In different phrases, Google believes it’s adapting to the very behaviour Gen Z is being credited with inventing.

Ms Padisetti agrees the corporate’s relevance isn’t in query — simply its monopoly.

“Google’s model is not outdated… they are fighting AI with AI,” she mentioned, pointing to the rollout of Gemini 2.0 and AI Overviews.

Still, she warns of a deeper stress on the coronary heart of this evolution, “Better AI answers = happier users = more searches. But: better AI answers = fewer clicks = less advertiser value = reduced publisher incentive to create quality content.”

It’s a paradox Google should resolve if it needs to maintain the ecosystem it constructed alive.

And, as Dr Lauren Rosewarne reminds us, “young people are often more media literate … than some adults.”

The message is obvious: Gen Z isn’t killing Google — they’re reshaping what it means to look.