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The Future of SEO: Why TikTok, Reddit, and ChatGPT Are the New Search Engines

Published: October 06, 2025

The Future of SEO: Why TikTok, Reddit, and ChatGPT Are the New Search Engines featured cover image

Search Is Social. Social Is Search.

The walls between “search” and “social” have officially crumbled. Where people once turned to Google first, today they’re just as likely to search TikTok, Reddit, or ChatGPT. And they don’t stop at one channel, they cross-check multiple sources before they buy.

This shift means the buyer journey is no longer linear. A shopper might see a TikTok unboxing, validate it with Reddit reviews, ask ChatGPT for a recommendation, and then confirm through Google’s AI Overviews. By the time they reach your website, the decision is nearly made.

For marketers, this new reality demands a rethink: SEO doesn’t live in isolation anymore. Visibility across social and conversational platforms is what drives demand and conversions.

TikTok: Demand Creation Meets Keyword Intent

TikTok isn’t just a discovery tool anymore, it’s a search engine in its own right. Its search bar now functions like a mini-Google, with drop-down suggestions acting as real-time demand signals. These keyword prompts show exactly what people are curious about, down to the phrasing they use.

Unlike Google, TikTok ranks videos based on engagement signals such as watch time, likes, and comments combined with keyword relevance. Backlinks don’t matter here. Conversion happens in-app, driven by content proof: reviews, UGC, comment threads, and TikTok Shop listings.

How buyers find products on TikTok

Search through drop-down keyword suggestions that reveal demand.
Watch creator content ranking for those queries.
Decide based on authenticity: reviews, unboxings, and social proof in the comments.

How brands rank and sell on TikTok

Use TikTok Keyword Planner and Keyword Insights to find high-volume, low-competition terms.
Mirror keywords in hooks, captions, and on-screen text to feed the algorithm.
Run Search Ads Campaigns and Video Shopping Ads against those terms.
Optimize TikTok Shop listings with strong titles, descriptions, and imagery.
Sync reviews with tools like Yotpo to increase trust signals.
Create UGC content that answers search queries directly (“Best scrubber for nonstick pans?”).
Produce comparison videos to steal share from category leaders (“Scrub Daddy vs. [Your Brand]”).
Mine viral comment sections for objections or phrasing and turn those insights into hooks.

The takeaway: on TikTok, keywords are about intent, but conversions are about proof. If you don’t control both, you’ll lose buyers mid-scroll.

Reddit: Real-Time Intent + Community SEO

Reddit is where raw intent lives. A shopper might type, “What’s the best collagen supplement?” and instantly get 20 replies filled with lived experience. These responses act as peer-to-peer reviews, often more persuasive than a polished blog post.

Google and ChatGPT both index Reddit heavily, which means conversations here spill into search results and AI answers. Ignore Reddit at your own risk: it’s both a consumer research lab and a direct visibility channel.

How buyers find products on Reddit

Ask questions in niche subreddits.
Scan comments for detailed reviews, comparisons, and pros/cons.
Validate through upvotes, long threads, and recurring recommendations.

How brands rank and sell on Reddit

Participate authentically: comment, answer questions, and provide genuine help.
Use tools like GummySearch to identify recurring questions in your category.
Run Reddit Ads targeted at high-intent communities (r/BuyItForLife, r/SkincareAddiction).
If founder-led, host an AMA to build credibility.
Promote posts that provide real value, written in Reddit’s native, unpolished tone.
Track what ChatGPT is pulling from Reddit about your brand, because buyers are reading that too.

Reddit rewards trust over polish. The brands that win are the ones willing to show up as participants, not advertisers.

ChatGPT: Conversational Commerce

ChatGPT has emerged as the new front door to commerce. Consumers no longer type a query into Google, skim 10 links, and click through. Instead, they ask questions like:

“Best mushroom gummy for focus?”
“Is [Brand] legit?”
“What’s the safest pregnancy pillow?”

ChatGPT answers by summarizing the internet: Reddit threads, listicles, affiliate blogs, review sites, and product catalogs. Increasingly, it also supports shoppable experiences. Integrations with Shopify and Etsy already allow direct product feeds and instant checkout, cutting the click path from five steps to one.

How buyers find products in ChatGPT

Ask direct comparison or validation questions.
Upload images to identify products or parts.
Rely on AI summaries of reviews, listicles, and Reddit threads.
Shop directly when product feeds and checkout integrations are enabled.

How brands rank and sell in ChatGPT

Pipe your catalog in through Shopify/Etsy integrations or upcoming Agentic Commerce frameworks.
Structure your catalog data with precise titles, attributes, prices, variants, and availability.
Inject your brand into review listicles, affiliate blogs, Reddit threads, Quora discussions, and your own site content.
Add schema markup and review plugins to make product pages AI-friendly.
Build FAQ sections into PDPs that anticipate questions (“Is this safe during pregnancy?”).
Provide deep metadata: sizing, returns, comparison info, use cases. The richer the data, the less likely ChatGPT is to suggest a competitor.

ChatGPT rewards structured data and third-party validation. If your catalog isn’t piped in and your reputation isn’t represented across the internet, you won’t appear in AI-driven shopping conversations.

Google’s AI Overviews: The Aggregator

Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) represent the clearest convergence of search and social. They increasingly pull TikTok, Reels, and Reddit content directly into results. A buyer searching “best protein powder for women” might see a mix of expert articles, YouTube Shorts, TikTok clips, and Reddit discussions, all stitched together by AI.

For brands, this means SEO isn’t just about ranking your site. It’s about owning as many surfaces as possible: your own domain, UGC on TikTok, credibility on Reddit, and structured data in product feeds. Google will surface all of it in AIOs.

What This Means for Marketers

Search is no longer a single-channel strategy. Visibility requires a cross-platform presence where SEO, social, and conversational AI intersect. To win, brands need to:

Think like a multi-channel buyer: Assume customers validate across TikTok, Reddit, ChatGPT, and Google before purchase.
Invest in proof, not just polish: Reviews, UGC, comment threads, and FAQs are now as critical as backlinks.
Feed the machines structured data: Whether it’s TikTok Shop listings, schema markup, or catalog attributes, precise metadata is non-negotiable.
Monitor AI surfaces: Watch what ChatGPT, Google AIOs, and Reddit summaries are saying about your brand. That’s the new “page one.”

The bottom line: SEO isn’t just search anymore. It’s social, it’s conversational, and it’s happening in feeds and chats as often as it happens in Google. If your brand doesn’t show up across these surfaces, you’re not just invisible, you’re out of the conversation.

1. Is TikTok really becoming a search engine?
Yes. TikTok users increasingly search for “best [product]” directly in the app, and its keyword drop-downs reveal real-time demand signals. For many Gen Z and millennial buyers, TikTok is their first stop before Google.

2. How do I make sure my brand shows up in ChatGPT answers?
You need two things: structured product data (catalog feeds, schema markup, rich PDPs) and third-party validation (reviews, Reddit mentions, affiliate blogs). ChatGPT summarizes both, so missing one lowers your chances of being included.

3. Why does Reddit matter for SEO?
Reddit is where authentic reviews and community insights live. Both Google and ChatGPT index Reddit heavily, meaning conversations there influence AI Overviews and AI search responses.

4. What role do Google AI Overviews play in this mix?
AI Overviews pull in TikTok videos, Reddit threads, and other UGC alongside traditional links. That makes cross-platform visibility essential, you need to rank on multiple surfaces, not just your website.

5. What’s the first step for brands that want to adapt?
Audit where your brand already shows up in TikTok, Reddit, ChatGPT, and AIOs. Then strengthen metadata on product pages, seed authentic reviews, and build cross-channel content that mirrors how people actually search.

Ready to see where your brand actually shows up? Run a cross-channel visibility audit with Go Fish. Get Your Free Audit.