‘Heat wave’ is Google’s top search this year among tech-savvy Pinoys

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

FILIPINOS turned to Google for news and current events, as Asia’s record heat wave topped its overall and news lists of trending searches this year, according to the search engine giant.

“With six of the top 10 overall search terms being news, the results show that Filipinos continue to rely on Google Search to learn more about the latest news,” Google said in a statement on Dec. 11.

“From current events to breaking developments, people trust Google Search to show them deeper information and insights about anything that grips the population’s attention at any given time.”

Notably, “climate change” was No. 6 overall and No. 5 in news, while the 2024 Paris Olympics was the third-most searched both overall and in news.

Other topics in Google’s trending news list include “National ID,” “Labubu,” “pertussis,” “mpox” and “demure.”

Three of the top 10 overall trending list were related to artificial intelligence (AI) — “Character AI,” “AI detector” and Google’s chatbot “Gemini.”

This proved that the Philippines is a tech-savvy country willing to learn more about the latest innovations, Google said.

Following his win at this year’s Paris Olympics, gold medalist gymnast Carlos Edriel P. Yulo made it to four lists, ranking No. 4 both overall and in news. He was the top search for sports and male personalities.

“These stories all made up a significant part of local pop culture this year, which Filipinos are keen to look up further on Google Search.”

Filipinos continued to show interest in celebrities, with pop group BINI emerging as the top search among female personalities. One of its members, Mikha Lim, was No. 10 on the same list.

BINI’s songs were also among the most searched on Google this year, with hits “Salamin, Salamin” and “Pantropiko” on the top 10 list of music and lyrics searched. Dionela’s viral song “Sining” topped the list.

Meanwhile, Filipinos also searched for celebrity deaths, with veteran Filipino actress Jaclyn Jose and British singer Liam Payne part of the overall top trending list at No. 2 and No. 8, respectively.

The drama Queen of Tears was the top searched show for both series and Korean titles, Google said.

Eight of the 10 most searched series were Korean dramas, it added, citing the continued popularity of Korean shows in the Philippines.