Google was losing cultural relevance with Gen Z. While it remained a functional utility, the moments that had traditionally made it the go-to mobile app were being displaced by TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Usage among Gen Z had dropped roughly 25% compared to older generations. Could Google become something a 13-to-24 year old would reach for? What would that look like?

I joined the project as Research and Design Lead, working within a small team at London-based innovation consultancy Made by Many. The project ran as two phases over five months, with an NDA that limits what can be shown publicly. I’ll focus on the methodology, which is where the real value of this work sits.

Phase 1 ran as three sequential research sprints, each building on the last. We started with 22 Gen Z participants across age groups and US states, exploring how they actually lived with technology: app preferences, daily routines, digital wellbeing, creativity, learning. Findings were synthesised into four insight themes, which were then translated into opportunity statements that seeded a sketch ideation phase. Seven concept sketches were tested with returning participants, who rated them against perceived value, brand fit and likely usage. By Sprint 3, we had four distinct concepts. Google brand fit was introduced as an explicit selection criterion at this stage, which became the decisive factor in which directions survived. The two concepts that tested strongest were seen as fun, helpful and plausibly Google.

Phase 2 was more client-directed. Google had been mostly observing during Phase 1; they became active participants in Phase 2, which brought a stronger push toward value propositions, differentiators and principles. The work went down well when presented, but the process involved significant repackaging of Phase 1 insights rather than generating new knowledge. It became important to maintain a clear view of the tension between research-led process and client-driven packaging in order to deliver the project successfully.

In the years that followed, Google’s iOS strategy aligned with the direction our research had indicated. Visual search became one of Google’s fastest-growing search behaviours and signed-in Gen Z users now issue more queries per day than any other age group.