TikTok is improving its search function, and now you can see reviews for some places directly in the comments of a video. This new test feature means you don't need to search again or use Google to find out more about a place you see on TikTok.

If you have this new feature on TikTok, you will find a "Reviews" tab on the right when you look at the video's comments.

For example, if you find a video about Central Park in New York City where the person who made it has added the location, you will be able to see how many stars other users gave it, read their reviews, and see their photos, if they added any.

You can also click on a reviewer's username here to see their TikTok profile. This is different from a previous Google Maps feature that had a Google Maps icon.

While some people might like the new feature, others may feel it makes it harder to see content clearly.

This is the latest step by TikTok to increase its search capabilities and compete with Google.

In 2022, a Google manager said that TikTok was taking away users from its main services, Search and Maps, especially young people. Today, TikTok is a strong competitor to Google in many ways.

TikTok is popular with young people (Gen Z) for searching for places. Last year, they also added image search. This means users can take or upload a picture to find similar things in TikTok Shop.

Also in September 2024, TikTok started letting companies show their ads to people searching on the app. They did this using "TikTok Search Ads Campaigns," a system that uses keywords to put brands' ads in the search results.

It's not clear if TikTok will offer this reviews feature to everyone, because the company didn't want to say anything before the article was published. But when we tested it at TechCrunch, the feature only appeared on some videos that had a location tag.