Search is everywhere: how people find information in 2025
Once upon a time, ‘search’ essentially meant a search engine.
If you needed information, you would use Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo to find what you wanted.
However, search is now embedded into nearly every digital platform.
And it’s our job, as marketers, to keep up with the developments and adapt our approaches based on them.
Here, we’ll explore how people find information, the latest updates – including Instagram’s new indexable content – and how it impacts marketers.
Search engines & the evolution of search
Search engines have been evolving for years.
The traditional process of identifying a need for information, typing a question into Google (or your search engine of choice!), looking through the top results, and finding the answer, has changed significantly.
Search engines have adapted to match how we now search for information.
Voice search integrations, such as Siri and Alexa, and AI tools, such as featured snippets and AI overviews, have given users new ways to search for information, and get that information quickly.
Figure 1: Google’s AI Overviews
As a result, marketers have had to adapt their content to be visible in search.
Search engine optimisation is, if anything, even more important than before.
Website content must now be:
- Well-structured to appear highly in search engine results.
- Created to answer questions succinctly so it can be used in snippets & AI overviews.
- Optimised for crawl and analysis by search engines and integrations, including optimised for voice search.
Social media search & video
‘Social search’ is the latest marketing buzzword – and for good reason.
More people are turning to social media platforms and apps for information, inspiration, and insight.
Platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram have long been used for building audiences and sharing content. But now they’re transforming how people search, requiring marketers to evolve their strategies.
Your metadata, captions, and keywords are more important than ever. This is especially true now that Instagram content can appear in search results. As of 10th July 2025, professional and creator accounts are crawlable by search engines.
This means that all content on those accounts will be discoverable in Google search results, bridging a gap between social media and traditional web search.
This is especially important in the younger generations, with a recent EMARKETER study finding that 46% of Generation Z and 35% of millennials prefer social media over traditional search engines.
Users are increasingly looking towards their favoured social media for answers, advice, and recommendations, with many favouring video content over a traditional Google search.
EMARKETER’s study found that Gen Z favour TikTok over Google for searches on topics like hair and makeup (40%) and gift ideas (40%).
The appetite for video content is not just confined to the younger generations, though, as YouTube CEO, Neal Mohan, shared that YouTube Shorts had reached 200 billion daily views in June 2025.
This shows the shift in content consumption and presents marketers with an opportunity to adjust their strategies and think through how they can share information in different ways.
Social SEO is now a must for those who want to stay ahead (you can read more about the importance of social SEO here).
E-commerce & apps as search engines
Platforms such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay have been a part of the online landscape for years. But, as our searching habits have changed, people have begun to skip the traditional search and go direct to e-commerce platforms when looking for a product.
The Jungle Scout Consumer Trends Report found that 56% of shoppers now start their online buying journey on Amazon, compared to 42% on a search engine, and 13% on YouTube.
The purchase funnel now often starts with consumers looking at the products on e-commerce sites rather than researching product recommendations on a traditional search engine.
It means that product SEO has become crucial for product-based businesses.
No matter what platform you use, information, reviews, and visual content will determine how your product performs.
The more information you can provide, the better, with discovery being driven and shaped by filters, recommendations, and algorithms.
AI-powered discovery
Artificial intelligence chatbots have quickly become ingrained in our lives.
AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google’s new AI mode, provide users with an easy, convenient way to find information without the need to spend time searching the web for answers.
They are conversational and allow the user to define their query, ask further questions, and generate resources.
These tools have quickly progressed from testing stage to being the go-to search tool for many people.
This shift has had a huge impact on traditional SEO and how web content should be structured to remain visible.
The rise of chatbots has played a large role in the rise of zero click marketing, prompting marketers to rethink their SEO strategies and adapt their content.
We’ve written more about SEO for chatbots and AI if you want to know more, but in short, content geared towards AI chatbots needs to:
- Answer user questions, especially specific ones.
- Use every opportunity to provide information, e.g. alt text, captions, meta tags.
- Provide all relevant information to answer further questions and queries.
In conclusion, marketers should adapt to changes in search
These developments show that search has evolved massively in recent years.
Marketers need to ensure that they stay up to date with updates and changes, adjusting their strategies and approaches accordingly.
How we present information and appeal to the consumer is changing, businesses need to rethink and diversify their content strategies.
It’s not enough to rely on websites and traditional SEO anymore.
Search is everywhere!
Not sure where to start?
With 30 years’ experience working with some of the world’s biggest brands, we partner with client teams to build strategies, launch campaigns, and drive results. Whether you need support from the ground up or a team to fine-tune your approach, we’ve got you covered.
