Summary
- YouTube is testing a new search bar within Shorts that links to related long-form content.
- This feature is currently available on Android, iOS, and web, but it only shows up on a limited number of Shorts.
- The user reception for the new search bar has been largely negative, with many users complaining that it obstructs the video and is an unnecessary addition.
Google is normally quick to communicate when it is testing out new experimental features on YouTube. It has a dedicated YouTube Labs experience for Premium subscribers that highlights experimental features that might one day make their way to YouTube users widely.
However, a new feature exclusive to YouTube Shorts has caught our attention, and while it is easy to decipher what it’s for, some details surrounding its implementation remain shrouded.
The tech giant seems to be testing a new search bar/search icon within YouTube Shorts to help users dive into long-form content about connected topics, with the feature currently available on Android, iOS, and the web. In my brief testing, the feature showed up on Premium and non-Premium accounts, albeit only on a small percentage of Shorts.
The search icon with a connected search query directly related to the Shorts’ content appears above the Shorts creator’s channel name, complete with a magnifying glass icon, as highlighted in the screenshots below.
As seen in the examples above, the Short about a custom PS5 displays the search prompt “Custom PlayStation 5,” while the video about Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks players) wasting time highlights the “NBA Kyrie Irving” search prompt. Tapping the prompt redirects users to the YouTube search page with the prompt pre-populated, giving users a convenient way to dive deeper into topics of interest.
What’s unclear, however, is how the feature is triggered. We’re not entirely sure if the feature is automatic/AI-powered or if Shorts creators have the option to manually add them. The fact that the prompt only shows up on a
small percentage of Shorts suggests that the latter might be true, but we’re not entirely certain — it could also have a specific criteria for activation.
Users first reported noticing the feature as far back as two months ago. The reception it has received has largely been negative, with many complaining that the search bar obstructs a significant portion of the video. “It was already annoying with all the text and hashtags blocking a big portion of the video, who actually thought this was a good idea?” wrote one user, while a different one wrote “I just started noticing this myself and its starting to really get on my nerves already. It seems my days of scrolling through shorts are about to end.”
Shrinking the search prompt or tucking it within the overflow menu on the right might be a more sensible approach. YouTube might or might not do that before officially rolling out the feature.
