GIFs are everywhere. From the web to comment boxes, and also chat apps. Tenor is one of the providers, and it's having a new owner: Google.
The search giant said that it's acquiring Tenor, which has become popular by powering a variety of GIF keyboards on smartphones and chat apps like Facebook Messenger. With the acquisition, Tenor continues to operate as a separate brand, said Google on its blog post.
Google places an interest on Tenor since the GIF provider has increasingly strengthen its position as a search company, using metrics for engagement and success as users tap and use its massive database of GIFs. With 12 billion monthly searches, Tenor has become a tool for many people to share those animated looping images.
What's more, Tenor also works with advertisers to create sponsored GIFs. Inserting them inside its compact searches, Tenor offers great opportunity for engagement.
GIFs are undeniable part of the web that can be traced back to 1987. It has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability. Then it was in 1996 that the "dancing baby" in GIF helped the spread of the format's popularity on the web.
They have increasingly become more interesting when messaging apps and keyboards started supporting the format. With Tenor having the ability to compress a lot of information in GIFs into something searchable and shareable, Tenor is pushing a great start.
By positioning itself as a search company that is capable of sitting comfortably inside the messaging ecosystem, Tenor is like a piece of a puzzle to Google. It's small, but completes Google as the company is struggling inside the messaging space.
CEO David McIntosh often say that the company is about conveying emotion. This is exceptionally true as moving images can indeed say a lot more things than just text or static images.
"Most people now use Google Images to find more information about a topic, and to help them communicate and express themselves - case in point, we see millions of searches for GIFs every day," said Cathy Edwards, Google Images director of engineering, in the post. "We've continued to evolve Google Images to meet both of these needs, and today we're bringing GIFs more closely into the fold."
"With their deep library of content, Tenor surfaces the right GIFs in the moment so you can find the one that matches your mood."
"Tenor will help us do this more effectively in Google Images as well as other products that use GIFs, like Gboard. Tenor will continue to operate as a separate brand, and we’re looking forward to investing in their technology and relationships with content and API partners. So whether you’re using the Tenor keyboard or one of our other products, you can expect to see much more of this in your future."
With the acquisition, Google has plans to integrate Tenor's GIFs into Google Images and Gboard, the company's virtual keyboard.
While popular among users, Tenor isn’t the only one in the business. GIPHY for example, also has a keyboard with a huge database of GIFs. There’s also Gfycat and some others as well.