Google acquired Tenor, maker of a GIF app, noting an increasing demand from users searching for the short clips played in a loop on its search platform.

The move will help Google boost its search data and offer marketers a new advertising format.

“We see millions of searches for GIFs every day. We’ve continued to evolve Google Images…and today we’re bringing GIFs more closely into the fold by acquiring Tenor,” the company said in a blog post

“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,” the post added.

In a separate blog, Tenor CEO David McIntosh said the acquisition will help improve its service for users, API partners, content partners, and advertisers.

He added Tenor will continue to operate as a separate brand and he would continue to lead the team alongside co-founders Erick Hachenburg and Frank Nawabi.

In April 2017 the company introduced Tenor Insights, a tool providing real-time data on how people express emotion using GIFs. The company also announced a proprietary advertising product enabling brands to promote their content to Tenor’s audience of 200 million monthly users. These are likely to help Google boost its advertising.

Tenor, which was set up four years ago, said it passed 300 million users in 2017 and earlier this year had more than 12 billion search requests per month.