As TikTok refines its search capabilities, the platform is now displaying reviews for certain venues directly within the comments section of videos.

Users on TikTok who have been granted access to this novel functionality will observe a new "Reviews" tab positioned to the right once they click to display the video's comments.

For instance, encountering a video featuring Central Park in New York City with a geotag allows you to access users' star ratings, written reviews, and uploaded photographs for the location, should these exist.

Furthermore, accessing a reviewer's TikTok profile is facilitated by clicking their username within this segment, a distinction from a prior Google Maps integration that was denoted by a dedicated icon.

While the new feature might be advantageous to some, others may find it encroaches upon the user experience when viewing content.

This initiative exemplifies TikTok's latest strategy in extending its search capabilities to challenge Google's dominance.

In 2022, a Google executive indicated that TikTok was encroaching upon its fundamental services, notably Search and Maps, especially among younger demographics; presently, TikTok has indeed contested Google's supremacy in various domains.

Beyond its popularity for place searches among Gen Z, TikTok integrated image search last year, enabling users to capture or upload photos to locate comparable items within TikTok Shop.

Additionally, commencing in September 2024, TikTok enabled advertisers to target its search results page via "TikTok Search Ads Campaigns," a keyword-driven solution formulated to present brands' advertisements within search outcomes.

Whether TikTok intends to deploy its reviews tab more widely remains uncertain, as the company opted not to furnish commentary prior to publication; however, our tests at TechCrunch indicated the feature appeared solely on a subset of videos incorporating a tagged location.