Instagram to launch new TikTok like ‘Search’ page with photos and videos suggestions

Instagram has announced that it will be introducing new Search improvements to improve users’ experience in finding accounts they know and discovering new ones. The new Search page on the app will show photos and video suggestions associated with the search word or keyword so users get to explore a diverse range of content. However, it feels like Instagram has run out of original ideas because this feature is copied from TikTok.

In the recent past, Instagram has reigned over the social media space without much competition. Even the features it copied from Snapchat like Stories and facial effects brought more daily activity and engagement on Instagram than Snapchat. But, TikTok has changed the whole social media dynamic. Its mobile-centered photo and video sharing features have attracted outlandish engagement with 1 billion monthly active users worldwide and achieved 3 billion downloads marks in July 2021. In wake of competition, Instagram does what it knows best is to copy.

Instagram’s Search new photos and video suggestions will initially support the English language

In the company’s detailed blog on Search and how does it work on the platform, the company’s Head Adam Mosseri announced the new improvements coming to Search. Designed for “inspiration and discovery, the changes are expected to make it easier for users to deepen their interests. The changes are as following:

1.  A full search results page experience.
2. The keywords you can use to search for content is expanding. We’re currently focused on getting keyword search results right in English, and will add support for other languages in the future.
3. Making search results better for exploration. For example, your search for “space” will show you space-related photos and videos, too. This is especially helpful when you don’t have an exact username or hashtag in mind when searching for a certain topic.

The third improvement is similar to the Search functionality on TikTok. The company has already introduced TikTok like Reels on Instagram.

Mosseri acknowledges how TikTok has changed social media interaction and wants to introduce similar features on his platform. Earlier, he shared that a new full-screen video sharing feature will be added to bring more video entertainment to the app.

Mosseri explained that the company is working to bring more video entertainment on the app to counter “really serious competition. TikTok is huge, YouTube is even bigger, and there are lots of different upstarts as well.”