YouTube’s ‘Trending’ section is about to disappear

YouTube is preparing to sunset the Trending section that shows users which videos are currently going viral on the platform. The Trending page and Trending Now list will be removed within the “next couple of weeks,” according to YouTube, with the platform instead shifting its attention toward expanding YouTube Charts that rank top-performing content.

YouTube is directing users to lean on personalized recommendations and YouTube Charts to explore new videos ahead of the Trending page removal. YouTube Charts allow users to see the most popular content for specific categories, which currently includes music videos, podcasts, and movie trailers. The platform says that it will add more content category charts “over time,” and that trending gaming videos can still be found under the Gaming Explore page in the meantime.

“Back when we first launched the Trending page in 2015, the answer to ‘what’s trending’ was a lot simpler to capture with a singular list of viral videos that everyone was talking about,” the company said in a blog post. “But today, trends consist of many videos created by many fandoms, and there are more micro-trends enjoyed by diverse communities than ever before.”

Viewers now learn about viral video trends from a variety of different sources, including Shorts, search suggestions, and other platforms like TikTok, which YouTube says has significantly reduced Trending page traffic, “especially over the last five years.” Creators have also criticized YouTube for demanding far higher viewership numbers to appear in the Trending section compared to branded accounts that post movie trailers, TV clips, and other traditional media, suggesting the experience doesn’t entirely reflect what videos are actually popular on the platform.

Creators who use the Trending page to research video ideas are being directed to instead use the Inspiration Tab in YouTube Studio, which provides AI-generated content suggestions. YouTube also says it’s working on new ways to help boost discovery for up-and-coming creators on the platform, such as the Hype promotional system it released last year that lets viewers amplify videos to a platform-wide leaderboard.