If there’s one thing we can count on as a species is that people will figure out ways to squeeze ads into every single thing we look at. Case in point? TikTok is integrating ads into search results, so you’ll get branded content every time you look for a hashtag, a specific user or anything else. These ads are pulled from sponsored videos hosted on the platform and exist as a way to “further power brand discovery.”
Some users may find this annoying, but the announcement makes it clear that ads will be relevant to the search query and will be clearly labeled as a sponsored post. Ads will also likely be culled from your interests as represented by prior search queries and all of your various actions on the social media platform. In other words, the algorithm will do what the algorithm already does, but in a new location.