It appears that Instagram is continuing to draw inspiration from TikTok. The Facebook-owned social network intends to put more emphasis on video and photo content in its search tool with plans for a new interface that is not unlike that of the Chinese platform. So how will this tool work?
Adam Mosseri, CEO of the social network, unveiled the platform's new, in-development interface for a search tool via a video published on his Instagram account and through a post on the official blog. The changes aim to improve the results of user searches by including a wider selection of content, without being limited to a single hashtag.
Facilitating searches
As on TikTok, users will be able to discover a new grid of photos and videos associated with a keyword as well as hashtags and accounts related to it: "We are soon launching a series of improvements designed for inspiration and discovery. These changes make Instagram Search more than just a way to find accounts and hashtags. We're moving towards a full search results page experience that makes it even easier to go deep on your interests," explained Adam Mosseri.
The idea is to improve "exploration" of content by displaying video and photo content related to a keyword: "We're also 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 Instagram CEO detailed.
For the moment, the social network is focusing on improving search results in English while specifying that other languages will of course be added later. Instagram has not yet ventured to mention a launch date.
For now Instagram's search tool allows you to search for a keyword but only offers accounts, audio, hashtags and places containing precisely the keyword in question. A system that greatly limits the searches of users who may not know exactly what they are looking for.
This change is not unlike the search tool on TikTok, which already displays videos, user accounts, sounds and hashtags that are part of the universe of the chosen keyword. Instagram earlier drew inspiration from the Chinese firm by adding a new "audio" tab in the search tool.
And indeed Instagram had already moved towards "TikTok" territory by claiming not to focus solely on photo content but wishing to highlight videos on its platform. The Facebook-owned platform also launched Reels, its new short-video format, while indicating that it would no longer highlight videos that bear the TikTok logo.
