As marketers, we’ve had one golden rule drilled into our heads for a decade: “Be on Google.” We’ve poured our budgets into SEO and SEM, all to win that coveted top spot on the search results page.
But what if your customers aren’t even looking there first?
If you’ve been feeling like your traditional marketing isn’t hitting as hard as it used to, you’re not imagining things. The entire “search” landscape has fractured. Your customer’s journey no longer starts with a Google search bar; it starts with a “vibe,” a “recommendation,” an “answer,” or a “discovery.”
“Googling” is no longer a one-size-fits-all verb. It’s just one piece of a much bigger, more complex puzzle.
The Great Split: How Search Has Changed
Search behavior has now split into four distinct “modes” based on what the user wants. Understanding this split is the key to finding your audience in 2025.
- Google = “The Navigator” (For Finding Links) Google is still the undisputed king for high-intent, navigational queries. “Mediapod pricing,” “Silver Mouse contact,” “restaurants near me.” It’s a directory we use to find a specific website or location. But as you’ll see, it’s losing its monopoly on answers.
- AI Chatbots = “The New Library” (For Factual Answers) This is the new giant. For complex, factual questions, users are now turning to AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini. Instead of 10 blue links for “What are the pros and cons of an EV in Malaysia?”, the AI provides a single, synthesized answer. It’s becoming the new “library” for complex, factual, and ambiguous questions.
- TikTok & Instagram = “The Digital Kiosk” (For Experiences) This is the massive shift for discovery. As a Google executive admitted, nearly 40% of Gen Z now go to TikTok or Instagram instead of Google when looking for “a place for lunch.” Why? They don’t want to read a blog post; they want to see the vibe. This is where your brand discovery now happens.
- Xiaohongshu (XHS) = “The Trusted Friend” (For Authentic Reviews) For a key, high-value demographic in Malaysia, Xiaohongshu has become the most trusted discovery platform. It combines visual appeal with in-depth, “real person” reviews. For high-stakes purchases like skincare or travel, a genuine XHS review is now more powerful than the top 10 Google results.
So, What’s the New Playbook?
If your brand only exists on Google, you are now completely invisible in the new worlds of “answers” and “discovery.” You are waiting in the library for customers who are already getting their answers from an AI or finding their inspiration at the digital kiosk.
Your marketing strategy has to adapt. It’s no longer just about your website’s rank. It’s about:
- Are you providing clear, authoritative content that AI can use for its answers?
- What is the sentiment around your brand on TikTok?
- Are creators on XHS reviewing your products? What are they saying?
- What honest, unfiltered feedback are people sharing on Reddit forums?
At Silver Mouse, we’ve seen this shift firsthand. For our clients, “social listening” is no longer a simple add-on; it’s the foundational data that informs every successful ad campaign and content strategy. To manage this new, complex landscape, our agency uses the Mediapod social listening tool, which allows us to listen to all these conversations at scale—from TikTok to Reddit—and provide our clients with a true, unified view of their market.
Your brand doesn’t just need to be searchable on Google. It needs to be discoverable on TikTok, credible on Xiaohongshu, and authoritative enough for AI. The only way to know if you are is to listen.
