The news: TikTok launched a suite of AI-powered ad tools to improve personalization, search optimization, and ad placements.

• TikTok rolled out Search Center, an AI platform housed in TikTok Ads Manager that simplifies buying search ads with keyword suggestions and measuring tools.
• It also added a series of analytics offerings designed to expand TikTok’s creator ecosystem.

Library of content: It introduced TikTok One Content Suite, which can find user-generated videos that mention a brand’s product or name.

• Content Suite can filter those videos for brand safety, predict ad performance, and request permission from creators to use their content.
• The tool surfaces over 40 times more relevant results than searching in the app, per TikTok data.

What else? TikTok made updates to Symphony Creative Studio—its AI-powered video ad generation tool—and commerce-focused AI ad tools for TikTok Shop sellers.

• Symphony is integrating with Smart+, its AI marketing campaign creator, allowing companies to launch ads directly from the creative studio.
• Smart+ added account-level targeting for brands, as well as increased control over ad placement through first- and third-party brand safety tools.
• Affiliate Creatives for Ads lets brands monetize creator content by automatically approving affiliate campaigns.

Search optimization: TikTok’s algorithm can sometimes feel random to users. However, the social media platform is trying to help brands tailor their ads to feeds by offering AI-powered insights into what content or search terms are going viral.

• 1 in 4 TikTok users search for something within their first 30 seconds on the app, according to company data.
• Helping brands customize their content and ads to what’s popular in the moment could optimize search performance.

Our take: TikTok is going all-in on AI to make its ad ecosystem more competitive with Google and Meta. Data on user activity and search behavior can help brands quickly meet audiences where they are—and position TikTok’s search offerings as a step in the path to purchase, not just a feature for entertainment.

This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.