TikTok comes for Google as it quietly rolls out image search capabilities in TikTok Shop

Comment
After leading the social media landscape, TikTok appears to be interested in challenging Google’s dominance in search. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s testing the ability for users to take or upload a photo to find similar products in TikTok Shop.
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.
TikTok has already made strides in cutting into Google’s search dominance, as executives at the tech giant said back in 2022 that TikTok and Instagram are eating into its core Search product. With this new feature, TikTok is not only trying to get people to use its app when looking for new products, but it’s also hoping people will make the purchase through TikTok Shop. 
The company isn’t just coming for Google or Amazon with this new feature; it’s also looking to compete with other companies that offer image search tools for shopping, such as Klarna or even startups like Cherry.
TikTok recently revealed that TikTok Shop now has more than 15 million sellers worldwide, including over 500,000 in the U.S. It spent more than $400 million on platform safety and created a team of more than 7,500 people to help keep TikTok Shop safe.
TikTok has been betting big on e-commerce, as it sees TikTok Shop as its next big potential revenue source. The company’s e-commerce efforts are also a way for it to keep users on its app as opposed to others. By building out and expanding TikTok Shop’s capabilities, TikTok is hoping people will spend more time and money on its e-commerce product.
The company is expanding its e-commerce efforts despite facing a potential ban in the U.S. In April, President Biden signed a bill that will ban TikTok if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, fails to sell it within a year.
Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.
Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.
The latest Fintech news and analysis, delivered every Tuesday.
TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.
Here’s a list of third-party apps that were Sherlocked by Apple at this year’s WWDC.
Tech sovereignty has become a looming priority for a number of nations these days, and now, with the demand for compute power at its highest level yet thanks to uptake…
Featured Article
It’s not the sexiest of subject matters, but someone needs to talk about it: The CFO tech stack — software used by the chief financial officers of the world — is ripe for disruption. That’s according to Jonathan Sanders, CEO and co-founder of fledgling Danish startup Light, which exits stealth…
Fresh off the success of its first mission, satellite manufacturer Apex has closed $95 million in new capital to scale its operations.  The Los Angeles-based startup successfully launched and commissioned…
After educating the D.C. market, YC aims to leverage its influence, particularly in areas like competition policy.
Lina Khan says the FTC wants to be effective in its enforcement strategy, which is why it has been taking on lawsuits that “go up against some of the big…
With dozens of antitrust cases and close to a hundred on the consumer protection side, the agency is now turning to innovative tactics to help it fight fraud, particularly in…
The ability to pause your activity rings is a minor feature update for most, but for those of us who obsess about such things to an unhealthy degree, it’s the…
Featured Article
It’s a very Apple approach in the sense that it prioritizes a frictionless user experience above all.
When generative AI tools started making waves in late 2022 after the launch of ChatGPT, the finance industry was one of the first to recognize these tools’ potential for speeding…
In addition to the federal funding, the state of New Mexico — where SolAero is based — committed to providing financing and incentives that value $25.5 million.
Some of the new Apple Intelligence features that Apple debuted at WWDC 2024 don’t even feel like AI, they just feel like smarter tools. 
The TechCrunch team runs down all of the biggest news from the Apple WWDC 2024 keynote in an easy-to-skim digest.
Jordan Meyer and Mathew Dryhurst founded Spawning AI to create tools that help artists exert more control over how their works are used online. Their latest project, called Source.Plus, is…
After leading the social media landscape, TikTok appears to be interested in challenging Google’s dominance in search. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s testing the ability for users to…
General Motors is investing $850 million into Cruise as the autonomous vehicle subsidiary slowly makes its way back to testing in Phoenix, Dallas and, as of Tuesday, Houston. GM’s CFO…
These messaging features, announced at WWDC 2024, will have a significant impact on how people communicate every day.
Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at Rippling’s controversial decision to ban some former employees from selling their stock, Carta’s massive valuation drop, a GenZ-focused fintech raise, and…
Google is finally making its Gemini Nano AI model available to Pixel 8 and 8a users after teasing it in March.
At WWDC 2024, Apple introduced new options for developers to promote their apps and earn more from them in the App Store.
iOS 18 will be available in the fall as a free software update.
The acquisition comes as BeReal was struggling to grow its user base and was looking for a buyer.
Unlike Light’s older phones, the Light III sports a larger OLED display and an NFC chip to make way for future payment tools, as well as a camera.
Since April, a hacker with a history of selling stolen data has claimed a data breach of billions of records — impacting at least 300 million people — from a…
Diversity Spotlight is a feature on Crunchbase that lets companies add tags to their profiles to label themselves.
Thanks to Apple’s newfound — and heavy — investment in generative AI tech, the company had loads to showcase on the AI front, from an upgraded Siri to AI-generated emoji.
A Finnish startup called Flow Computing is making one of the wildest claims ever heard in silicon engineering: by adding its proprietary companion chip, any CPU can instantly double its…
Five years ago, Day One Ventures had $11 million under management, and Bucher and her team have grown that to just over $450 million.
Particle announced it has partnered with news organization Reuters to collaborate on new business models and experiments in monetization.
Mistral AI has closed its much-rumored Series B funding round, raising €600 million (around $640 million) in a mix of equity and debt.
Powered by WordPress VIP

source
Sponsor:News technical sponsor
Sponsor:News AI sponsor
Sponsor: AI sponsor
Sponsor: AI sponsor