Over the past couple years, “more like TikTok” has become a business strategy for tech companies, large and small.
Many are “TikTokifying” themselves, scrambling to embed carbon copies of the app’s defining features in their platforms.
As they forge ahead, TikTok itself is flipping the trend on its head, laying the groundwork for features rivaling those of Google, Amazon, Spotify, and more.
Who is TikTok facing up against?
Everyone, basically.
- Instagram made Reels, and YouTube launched Shorts, so Meta and Google are fair game.
- Since 2021, Spotify has been trialing a TikTok-esque discovery feature.
- Amazon, too, is testing a TikTok-like shopping feed, and recently expanded its livestream shopping efforts.
So where is TikTok looking to grow?
For now, TikTok is particularly well positioned to move into:
- Search: Google literally said it themselves — young people use TikTok to find places to eat, not Google, and TikTok is already deepening its search functionality.
- Music: 63% of TikTok users discover new music on TikTok before any other platform, and TikTok is now in talks with labels about rapidly expanding its music platform Resso globally.
- Commerce: Earlier this week, Axios reported that TikTok is launching product fulfillment centers, putting Amazon in its sights.
As The Washington Post’s Gen Z tech correspondent Jules Terpak eloquently put it: “TikTok is a beast.”