Chat, Is This Peak? GIPHY Unveils Trend Forecast for 2025

It’s that time of year again, to look back and reflect…PSYCH! This year at GIPHY, in anticipation of the new year, we peered into our crystal ball (search data from 2024) to predict the search trends that will come to define 2025. What better way to predict than tapping into some of our most trusted advisors: our users!

From the rise of “ijbol,” to the proliferation of group chat slang, to nostalgia for the early aughts, 2024’s search trends revealed a certain cohort exuding main character energy on GIPHY: Gen Z. Gone are the days of millennial dominance online; a new generation has taken the reins of culture-defining virality.

Below, you’ll find five predictions of what’s in the cards for 2025, along with a breakdown of 2024’s nascent search terms culled from billions of searches on GIPHY. Are you ready, chat? Gaze into our crystal ball and behold GIPHY’s first-ever Trend Forecast report.

1. Verbosity

Get there ASAP? No, we’ll be arriving expeditiously. Gone are the days of abbreviations; in 2024, users brought their thesauruses to the chat to drive up searches for big college words such as “lugubriousness” and “pulchritudinous.” 2025 will likely see more users leaving behind their brain rot in 2024 to bring a sesquipedalian, verbose touch to their chats.

• Lugubriousness +850%
• Pulchritudinous +446%
• Capacious +104%

2. Group Chat Slang

Chat, is this peak? 2024 saw a dramatic rise in searches for terms used in group chats and private online communities, such as “gm chat” and “hey chat.” The definitive slang of 2025 will be thanks to Gen Z’s group chats — where culture and conversation happens (and where GIPHY reigns supreme).

Trending search terms:

• gm chat +52%
• hey chat +65%
• groupchat +21%
• gn chat +47%

3. RIP Millennial Internet Slang

Sorry, Millennials. The torch has been passed to a new generation to set the course for modern day slang. According to data from 2024, GIPHY searches for “lol” and “vibe” are on the downswing, while searches for “ijbol” and “aura” are on the rise. It’s Gen Z’s world, we’re just Ohio.

Trending search terms:

• aura +778%
• ijbol +13%
• skibidi +112%
• sksksk +19%

4. Viral Zooperstars

Human influencers are so last year. 2024 was a breakout year for animal celebrities, from a certain viral pygmy hippopotamus to a beloved animated duck with a bad habit. 2025 will likely uncover more viral critters across the animal kingdom to help us express ourselves online.

Trending search terms:

• dancing raccoon +182%
• smoking duck +5394%
• moo deng +98588%

5. Vintage Internet

Vintage now means the early aughts (ugh), and users across the internet are craving y2k aesthetics, driving up searches for terms like “digital camera,” “flare jeans,” and “flash game.” From sparkly quotes to hopecore content, we’re all seeking a good dose of nostalgia in 2025 to keep our weary brains afloat.

Trending search terms:

• hopecore +456%
• early 2000s +40%
• digital camera +71%
• flash game +74%
• flare jeans +64%

GIPHY reaches about a quarter of the world every day, generating one billion searches daily and helping people from all walks of life express themselves in fun and creative ways.

We gather that 2024 was….a mixed bag, and that 2025 proves to be much of the same. What you can always rely on is GIPHY will be there, moving and adapting at the speed of culture.

Interested in hopping on some of these trends with GIPHY? Check out ads.giphy.com.