Highlights
- YouTube has officially discontinued its global Trending and Trending Now tabs.
- It is shifting toward AI-driven, personalised content discovery.
- Genre-based charts, revamped Explore pages and AI-powered Inspiration Tab now surface content based on viewer interests and trends.
Caption – YouTube Trending Section has been removed from the platform. (Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash)
YouTube has officially discontinued its Trending and Trending Now pages. This decision marks a major strategic shift towards AI-powered personalisation, where content recommendations are driven by user behaviour rather than a universal popularity chart.
YouTube is adapting to evolving viewing habits, shaped by the rise of YouTube Shorts, search-based discovery and niche community engagement. The platform’s new discovery approach focuses on delivering relevant, localised and interest-based content, fundamentally reshaping how users interact with creators and viral media.
What’s Replacing the Trending Page?
Category-Specific Charts
In place of the general Trending page, YouTube has introduced genre-based charts that are more targeted and user-relevant. These include –
- Trending Music Videos
- Weekly Top Podcasts
- Popular Movie Trailers
- Gaming Explore Page
Each chart is tailored to specific user interests and regional viewing trends, making them more engaging than a generic list.
Expanded Explore Pages
The Explore tab is also being overhauled to provide more intuitive content discovery. It now includes dynamic updates across interest areas such as –
- Fashion and lifestyle
- Science and technology
- Health and wellness
- Local and regional updates
These revamped pages are designed to be more responsive to emerging trends and individual user preferences.
Caption – Screenshot from YouTube Help Centre.
New Tools for Creators – AI-Driven Support and Visibility
Inspiration Tab
To help creators keep up with evolving trends, YouTube has rolled out the Inspiration tab, which:
- Surfaces trending topics based on the creator’s audience
- Suggests video ideas aligned with viewer interest
- Uses AI to analyse audience behaviour and recommend content themes
Hype and Creator Discovery Tools
YouTube is also expanding tools to boost visibility for newer creators including –
- Hype (launched in India): Allows fans to increase the reach of emerging creators
- Creators on the Rise: Promotes rising talent on official YouTube channels and the Explore tab
These features aim to democratise content discovery, reducing creators’ reliance on viral hits for growth.
Why Did YouTube Remove the Trending Page?
According to ToI’s recent report, traffic to YouTube’s Trending tab has dropped significantly in the last five years. Most users now find popular videos through algorithmic recommendations on the Home feed, Search suggestions, real-time engagement, YouTube Shorts and the Community tab.
This is one of the biggest reasons why the manually curated or static Trending page became obsolete compared to dynamic and personalised discovery methods.
Moreover, the One-Size-Fits-All Model no longer works. A single list of “what’s trending” can no longer reflect the interests of YouTube’s massive and diverse audience. Viral content today is increasingly fragmented across language-based communities, regional or cultural preferences and niche content categories like gaming, beauty, or education.
The traditional Trending page simply couldn’t capture this diversity anymore.
YouTube Shorts and AI-Powered Recommendations
YouTube Shorts has fundamentally changed how content trends on the platform. These quick, vertical videos spread virally through personalised feeds and not curated lists.
To support this shift, YouTube now relies on machine learning and behaviour analytics to deliver more relevant content. The algorithm takes into account your watch history, regional trends, user engagement behaviour and search patterns.
This AI-first strategy offers a more customised and timely discovery experience than the now-retired Trending tab ever could.
FAQs
Q1. Why did YouTube remove the Trending and Trending Now pages?
Answer. Traffic to YouTube’s Trending tab has dropped significantly in the last five year. The traditional Trending page simply couldn’t capture this diversity anymore.
Q2. What is replacing the old Trending page on YouTube?
Answer. YouTube has introduced genre-based charts including Trending Music Videos, Weekly Top Podcasts, Popular Movie Trailers, and a Gaming Explore Page.
Q3. How is YouTube helping creators adapt to this change?
Answer. YouTube has rolled out the Inspiration tab, which surfaces trending topics based on the creator’s audience and uses AI to recommend video ideas aligned with viewer interest.
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