{"id":1769,"slug":"gartner-millennials-62-gen-z-75-noncompany-search-2021","title":"Gartner (April 2021) — 62% of millennials and 75% of Gen Z would use noncompany guidance (Google, YouTube) to self-resolve, even when they can contact support","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["rich-results-eligibility","self-service-customer-preference"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Discovery increasingly starts in a search engine — **62% of millennials and 75% of Gen Z** report they would use noncompany guidance (e.g., a Google search or YouTube video) to self-resolve, even when they can contact customer service.\n\n**Source:** Gartner press release, April 20, 2021.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified — independent, primary press release.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Connects self-serve preference to the *findability surface* — the page has to exist on the open web in a form that Google can return, not behind a contact form. Bridges the self-service evidence ([[hbr-81-percent-attempt-self-service-first-2017]]) and the structured-data mechanism ([[google-structured-data-mechanism-recipe-example]]).","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"hbr-81-percent-attempt-self-service-first-2017","title":"HBR (Dixon et al., 2017) — 81% of all customers attempt self-service before reaching out to a live representative","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"google-structured-data-mechanism-recipe-example","title":"Google Search Central — structured data labels each individual element so users can search by ingredient, calorie count, cook time","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-searchable-structured-catalogue-working-tool-june-2026","title":"Research brief: the searchable, structured catalogue as a working tool — when records-not-prose pays off (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.643Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.643Z"}