Google Wants to List Instagram and TikTok Videos

Google wants to integrate Instagram and TikTok videos into its search engine.

Google is reportedly in talks with ByteDance and Facebook to bring Instagram and TikTok videos to Google Search. The company is aiming to strike a deal with social media platforms to index its short-form videos in its search engine. If the deal goes through, it will be possible to search for Instagram and TikTok videos on Google Search using popular keywords.

Currently, when trying to search for Instagram or TikTok videos on Google, we can see that only videos published on YouTube or any other third-party platform are uploaded. However, Google aims to change this situation. The search giant’s executives are currently in a deal with ByteDance and Facebook to get the data they need to index and rank videos from TikTok and Instagram in Search, The Information reports.

A Google spokesperson told The Information that the company is always looking for new ways to organize information. “We help sites make their content discoverable and leverage their presence on Google, and they can choose how or whether their content appears in Search,” the spokesperson said. He talks about integration.

That said, it’s worth noting that Google started testing a new feature that shows TikTok and Instagram videos on Google Search for mobile devices in December of last year. This feature initially only showed YouTube videos, but videos from the other two platforms were soon added as well. The company is still testing the feature in several regions and will be able to show a wider rollout if it manages to strike a deal with Google, ByteDance and Facebook. If all these goals go according to plan, it could offer a similar feature in Google Search for desktop.