Why social search is becoming a new stage in discoverability

Until recently, search visibility was almost entirely synonymous with presence on Google. Businesses invested in SEO, optimized their websites, and built marketing strategies around capturing organic traffic from search engine results.

However, user behavior is no longer limited to a single platform. Today, search has become a multi-channel process: people turn to TikTok for recommendations, YouTube for educational content, Reddit for honest opinions, and Amazon to validate products before making a purchase.

This means search is no longer synonymous with traditional search engines alone. Instead, it is evolving into a broader ecosystem of platforms, each playing a distinct role in the decision-making process.

Search behavior is diversifying

Research by SparkToro and Datos, which analyzed 41 platforms — from search engines and marketplaces to social networks and AI tools — confirms this shift. While Google still dominates (accounting for around 73.7% of all searches), a growing share of user attention is being distributed across other channels.

Specifically:

• ~80% of searches take place on traditional search engines
• ~10% on e-commerce platforms
• 5.5% on social networks
• 3.2% on AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude

The key shift is that users increasingly search directly on platforms where they expect to find the most relevant answer — in the format and context they prefer. This fundamentally changes how brands should approach visibility strategies.

Read more about the strategic importance of GEO for business.

The industry is focused on AI but missing the bigger shift

Much of today’s search industry conversation revolves around AI. Marketers are asking questions like: how to rank in ChatGPT, how to optimize for AI search, and whether AI will replace Google.

These are important questions. However, the data suggests a more grounded perspective — especially when planning for the next 12 months.

According to SparkToro, AI search currently accounts for around 3.2% of total search activity. This is meaningful and will likely grow, reshaping how people discover information in the future.

But today, AI tools still lag behind many established platforms in terms of usage. For example:

• Amazon processes more searches than ChatGPT
• YouTube also surpasses AI search
• even Bing has higher search activity

Despite this, many brands are over-investing in AI visibility while overlooking platforms where millions of searches already happen daily.

Social platforms are becoming search engines

For many users, social platforms are now primary search destinations. People use:

• TikTok — for recommendations, restaurants, travel ideas, and products
• YouTube — for tutorials, reviews, and problem-solving
• Reddit — for honest opinions and community insights
• Pinterest — for inspiration and planning

Each platform plays a distinct role in the customer journey and serves different search intents:

• TikTok / Instagram — discovery and recommendations
• YouTube — learning, tutorials, and reviews
• Reddit — real opinions and discussions
• Pinterest — inspiration and planning

Importantly, these platforms are no longer just entertainment channels. Users come with clear intent — to solve a problem, find answers, or get inspired.

Social content is becoming part of Google’s SERPs

As user behavior evolves, so does Google. The platform is increasingly integrating social content directly into search engine results pages (SERPs).

Over the past year, Google has significantly expanded how it surfaces content from various platforms. Search results now frequently include:

• videos from TikTok
• Shorts from YouTube
• threads from Reddit
• posts from Instagram
• forum discussions

Moreover, Google has formed partnerships with platforms like Reddit to strengthen the presence of community-driven content in search results.

As a result, social content now influences discoverability across multiple layers:

• direct searches on social platforms
• visibility within Google search results
• influence on AI-generated answers

Social content is also powering AI Search

Social platforms are becoming key sources for AI-generated responses. Systems like ChatGPT rely on content that reflects real-world experiences, opinions, and discussions.

That’s why platforms such as Reddit, YouTube, Quora, as well as creator content from Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are frequently used as sources.

For example, Google AI Overviews often reference Reddit discussions and YouTube videos. Other AI tools also rely on reviews, community conversations, and creator content when generating answers.

This means content created for social platforms now impacts visibility across multiple layers: social search, Google results, and AI-generated responses.

The compounding discoverability effect

Investing in social search visibility creates a powerful compounding effect. For example, a single high-quality tutorial on YouTube can:

• rank within YouTube search
• appear in Google results
• be referenced in AI-generated answers
• be shared across social platforms
• spread through private messaging and dark social

Unlike traditional website content, social content can travel across platforms, dramatically expanding its reach. This creates an entirely new layer of discoverability.

At a time when marketing budgets are under increased scrutiny, this multi-platform efficiency makes content strategies significantly more cost-effective.

Most brands still follow the old search playbook

Despite these shifts, most companies still rely on traditional SEO, paid search, website optimization, and emerging AI experiments.

Few brands have structured strategies for:

• search optimization on TikTok
• visibility on YouTube
• community engagement on Reddit
• creator-led discovery strategies

This creates a clear opportunity. While competition on Google is extremely high, social search remains relatively under-optimized. Early adopters can capture visibility where demand already exists and build brand preference.

Importantly, investing in social search visibility doesn’t just tap into the ~5.5% of searches happening on social platforms — it also influences traditional search results and AI-generated answers.

Search everywhere: a new model for discoverability

Today, search is not a single channel — it is a behavior distributed across platforms.

Users search wherever they expect to find the best answer in the most useful format: Google, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Amazon, Pinterest — and increasingly, AI interfaces.

Winning in modern search means being discoverable across all these touchpoints. The brands that succeed won’t be those that rank in just one place, but those that are visible wherever their audience is searching.

That is the future of search. That is “search everywhere.”

Read this article in Ukrainian.