Quietly Unveiled: TikTok Shop Now Boasts Image Search, Taking On Google’s Dominance

You could open up the TikTok app and snap a picture of it to find similar items available for purchase on TikTok Shop. The ability to use image search for shopping is something that Google has offered for years with Google Lens, its visual search tool. 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.

According to sources, TikTok is shifting gears and making a bold move towards challenging the dominance of Google in the search engine market. In a recent statement to TechCrunch, the social media powerhouse has confirmed testing of a new feature that allows users to take or upload a photo for finding similar products in TikTok Shop.

The new feature, initially discovered by TikTok user Jonah Manzano, is now available to all TikTok users in the United States and Southeast Asia. Those with access to the feature will notice a camera icon in the search bar of TikTok Shop.

For instance, let’s say you are at a restaurant and completely adore the plate served to you. To find similar items available on TikTok Shop, all you have to do is snap a quick picture on the app. Or, while browsing online, you come across a gorgeous top that is way over your budget. Save the image and upload it on TikTok Shop to find a comparable option at a more affordable price.

Until now, users could only search for specific items on TikTok Shop using textual descriptions. However, with the newly added image search feature, users have more convenient and visually-driven options. Google, with its visual search tool, Google Lens, has offered image search for shopping for years. Amazon, another tech giant, also offers this feature, making it yet another area where TikTok is looking to compete.

Image Credits: TechCrunch/Screenshot

Reports show that TikTok has been gradually reducing Google’s stronghold in the search engine market. In 2022, executives at Google confessed that TikTok and Instagram have been chipping away at its core Search product. With this latest feature, TikTok aims not only to increase its usage for product discovery but also to encourage users to make purchases directly from TikTok Shop.

But TikTok is setting its sights beyond Google and Amazon; it is also looking to compete with other companies that offer image search tools for shopping such as Klarna or even start-ups like Cherry.

Recent statistics reveal that TikTok Shop has over 15 million sellers globally, including more than 500,000 in the U.S. Moreover, the company has invested over $400 million in platform safety and has a team of more than 7,500 people dedicated to keeping TikTok Shop safeguarded.

TikTok’s heavy investment in e-commerce indicates its strong belief in TikTok Shop as a potential revenue stream in the near future. More importantly, this move helps them retain users on their app instead of directing them to other platforms. By expanding and enhancing the functionalities of TikTok Shop, the company hopes to increase the time and money users spend on the app.

However, despite its promising efforts, TikTok could face hurdles as it tries to enter the e-commerce market. In April of this year, President Biden signed a bill that could potentially ban TikTok if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, fails to sell it within the next twelve months.