The world of digital marketing is now measured not just in impressions or clicks, but in moments of genuine intent. With this pulse in mind, TikTok has taken a significant step with the launch of Search Ads Campaign, an evolved version of the former Toggle (Automatic Search Placement), designed to capture users precisely when they are searching — and to do so with control, precision, and creativity.
What’s New in Search Ads Campaign
Unlike Toggle, which simply activated the possibility of appearing in search results without granular control, Search Ads Campaign introduces a fully advertiser-managed model. It is now possible to select specific keywords, define negative terms, group keywords by themes, and leverage automatic suggestions generated from the creatives themselves. It also allows clear optimization goals —either for Traffic or Web Conversion— and the use of multiple formats, from video and carousel to static images, better aligned with the user’s intent at the moment of search.
Additionally, it incorporates advanced reporting tools, real-time budget adjustments, and dynamic exclusion of irrelevant terms. All of this makes Search Ads Campaign a much more robust and strategic solution than the former Toggle, which was merely a passive extension of inventory.
From an Automatic Feature to a Strategic Tool
The change is not only functional but conceptual. Toggle offered complementary visibility but lacked control over which queries triggered ads, did not allow negative management, and provided no clear metrics for incremental impact. The new Search Ads Campaign addresses these limitations: it shifts from being an automatic add-on to becoming a tool specifically designed to capture real intent, measure results, and optimize campaigns based on actionable data.
Gen Z: The Engine of the New Search Paradigm
The evolution of this product directly responds to the changing search habits of Generation Z. According to TikTok data, 57% of users already use the search function within the app, and 23% do so within the first 30 seconds of opening it. Recent studies show that, for this segment, weekly search frequency on TikTok is increasingly approaching the use of traditional search engines.
But it’s not just frequency that is changing: the type of content they expect to find is also evolving. Gen Z looks for recommendations, reviews, tutorials, and visual inspiration, not just product listings. Search Ads Campaign is designed precisely to align with this behavior: visual, contextual, and relevant creatives that can inform, inspire, and persuade in a single step.
How to Incorporate It Into Your Strategy
To leverage its potential, it is essential to design campaigns based on user intent. Instead of focusing solely on transactional keywords, it is advisable to identify terms reflecting inspirational or exploratory searches, accompanied by short, dynamic, mobile-adapted creatives.
It is also recommended to integrate Search Ads Campaign with In-Feed campaigns, combining discovery and search in a coherent flow, and to use keyword exclusion tools to avoid spending on irrelevant queries. Measuring incrementality —which new conversions come exclusively from Search Ads— will be crucial to evaluate its true impact on metrics like CPA and ROAS.
Impact It Generates and What’s Coming
Search Ads Campaign not only improves control but also redefines social search as a serious intent-driven channel. For brands in Latin America, this means the opportunity to capture young consumers —Generation Z— at decisive moments, with creativity, visibility, and relevance.
At 369, we believe this type of innovation is key: transforming search from a passive response mechanism into an active discovery point, where creativity, data, and strategy converge.
