For a generation of marketers, "search strategy" and "Google strategy" were synonymous. Google was where customers began. Ranking on Google was how businesses were found. That equivalence is no longer accurate. The starting point for information, research, and purchase decisions has fragmented — and South African businesses that assume Google is still the only front door are missing where their customers actually begin.

Where People Start Now

For most of the internet era, the user journey started the same way. A question arose. The user opened a browser. They typed into Google. Everything flowed from that moment. Google was the front door to the internet, and for businesses, ranking in Google was the closest thing to a guaranteed source of new customers.

That front door is no longer the only one, or for some audiences, even the primary one. The starting point for information, product research, and purchase decisions has fragmented in ways that would have seemed implausible even five years ago. Google remains important — especially in South Africa — but it is no longer automatically the first choice for the queries that matter most to businesses.

Younger audiences are not abandoning search. They are searching — just not always on Google.

— Anaye Digital, 2026

The New Starting Points

Research from multiple sources consistently shows the same pattern: different query types are migrating to different platforms, and the migration is generationally skewed.

Product Research

TikTok, Instagram & YouTube

A significant and growing proportion of product research — particularly for lifestyle, beauty, fashion, food, and consumer electronics — now starts on social video platforms. Users searching "best sunscreen for SA summer" or "honest review of X" are increasingly likely to go to TikTok or YouTube first, where they find authentic, visual reviews from real people. Google indexes some of this content, but the discovery happens natively within social platforms.

Recommendations & Opinions

Reddit & Community Forums

Appending "reddit" to Google searches has become a popular hack for users trying to find authentic human opinions rather than SEO-optimised content. But increasingly, users are going directly to Reddit, specialised forums, and community platforms to ask questions and get unfiltered peer recommendations. This is particularly common for financial decisions, software choices, and service provider recommendations.

Research & Explanation

ChatGPT & Perplexity

For complex research tasks — understanding an industry, comparing options, getting an explanation of how something works — AI chat interfaces have become the preferred starting point for a meaningful and growing user segment. The conversational format is more efficient than iterative Google searches, and the synthesised answer removes the need to evaluate and cross-reference multiple sources.

40%
Of Gen Z users prefer TikTok over Google for product and lifestyle discovery
35%
Of 18–34 year olds use AI assistants as a primary research starting point
33%
Of Google searches in 2023 included "reddit" appended — users seeking authentic opinions

The South African Context

South Africa has its own nuances that make this shift play out differently here than in the US or UK. Data costs and device access mean that not all South African internet users have adopted AI tools at the same pace as developed markets. WhatsApp remains a dominant communication platform and increasingly a discovery and recommendation channel, particularly in B2C contexts. Facebook retains a user base that has declined in Western markets. And Google remains the overwhelming search market leader.

But the directional shift is the same — and the younger, urban, higher-income demographic that most B2C and B2B marketers target is adopting new search behaviours at a pace that mirrors global trends. The businesses building multi-platform discovery strategies now will be significantly ahead when these behaviours become mainstream across broader South African demographics.

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A Multi-Platform Discovery Strategy

The implication is not to abandon Google. It is to build a presence across the platforms where your specific audience starts their journey — which requires understanding your audience before prescribing a channel mix.

  • Map your audience by age and behaviour. Where does a 28-year-old professional in Sandton start their search for your type of service? Where does a 45-year-old business owner in Pretoria start? These may be completely different platforms with completely different content formats.
  • Build Google Business Profile seriously. For most SA service businesses, local Google search is still the highest-intent starting point. A fully optimised, actively managed GBP profile with genuine reviews is more valuable than a blog with 50 articles.
  • Build AI authority alongside Google authority. The signals that earn you citations in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews — authoritative content, strong brand mentions, consistent expertise signals — are worth investing in now, before AI search becomes even more dominant.
  • Invest in social discovery for relevant categories. If you sell consumer products, food, lifestyle services, or anything visual — video-first social content on Instagram and TikTok is no longer optional for reaching audiences under 35.
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