Google is reportedly testing a new one mobile search function that would make TikTok and Instagram videos appear in their own dedicated carousel – the search giant’s apparent response to a growing hunger for short video content.
The new feature expands on a testing feature launched by Google earlier this year that nests a carousel of “Short Videos” in the personalized Google Discover tab. While the original version of the feature focused on collecting video from Google-owned platforms such as YouTube and the short video project Tangi, content from Instagram and TikTok will reportedly be included in the update.
The move is likely to help Google maintain usagers who just want to glaze their eyes and gaze at a cat in pajama pants for a few minutes as an excuse to not feel anything for a while – ie. everybody. For example, when a user clicks on a short video in the carousel, they are taken to a web version of their native platform instead of being transported to the corresponding app – meaning users are more likely to hit the back button and return to Google then they will fall into an endless scrolling hole.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that TechCrunch that the feature is currently being tested on mobile devices, but said the carousel is still in its early stages and isn’t showing up on every search yet.
The new ‘Short Videos’ carousel is still completely separate from the ‘Stories’ feature that Google unveiled in October 2020 for the search app for iOS and Android. Formerly known as ‘AMP Stories’, the stories consist of content curated by a short list of Google’s digital publishing partners including Forbes, USA Today, Vice, Now This, Bustle, Thrillist, and others.
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