This throwaway line in a Stephen Colbert interview should make Google nervous

• "Grandpa Google" is being threatened by TikTok, according to late night's new host.
• Nearly 40% of Gen Z preferred TikTok over Google in 2022.

Google may have finally met a worthy opponent in its decades-long reign as the number one search engine — at least according to a throwaway line from late night TV's newest host.

"I was on TikTok searching 'how to nail a job interview,'" 30-year-old Taylor Tomlinson, who is set to host "After Midnight" on CBS next year, said on "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" last week.

"TikTok is Google for children," she explained to the audience and 59-year-old Colbert.

It's true: Younger generations are turning to TikTok with their queries. Nearly 40% of Gen Z prefers using TikTok and Instagram to search over Google, according to Google's internal 2022 data. Respondents from ages 16 to 34 said they use social networks over search engines to research brands in a survey last year.

Twenty-somethings turn to TikTok for recipes, restaurant recommendations, and travel guides, with many preferring immersive videos to Google reviews.

Even before Tomlinson's joke, Google was probably already sweating. The search giant is aware it's losing territory to social platforms that focus on photo and video content.

At a conference last year, Prabhakar Raghavan, a senior VP at Google, admitted that young people "don't go to Google Maps or Search" when looking for a place to have lunch.

It's even acknowledged the disparaging nickname it has among younger demographics.

"Grandpa Google knows the answers and will help you with homework," Raghavan said last month as part of Google's antitrust trial. "But when it comes to doing interesting things, they like to start elsewhere."

Google spends a lot — as much as $18 billion — to maintain its position as the world's biggest online search engine. It looks like money may not be enough to buy Gen Z.