Stat: Gen Z turn to social media before search engines

US, UK, Australia – Social media platforms are fast becoming the primary gateway to online discovery for younger consumers, according to Sprout Social’s latest Q2 2025 Pulse Survey.  

The survey of 2,280 social media users from the US, the UK and Australia found that 41% of Gen Z shoppers now turn to social media first when searching for information – surpassing traditional search engines (32%) and AI chat tools (11%). Platforms such as Facebook (81%), YouTube (71%) and Instagram (66%) remain the most used tools for search, with YouTube climbing to second place since the last survey. 

The report highlights social media’s growing role in product discovery and e-commerce, with 90% of Gen Z and 84% of Millennials admitting that social media content influenced a purchase in the past six months. Beyond commerce, the platforms are also improving other aspects of life – 64% of Gen Z credit social media with enhancing their social lives, while 62% say it has improved their financial decision-making. 

This shift towards social media platforms as discovery engines aligns with our Content Commerce report, which explores how discovery and commerce are increasingly converging in the same digital spaces.