YouTube Search Filters: What's Changing and Why It Matters for Business
YouTube search filters are changing profoundly to simplify the user experience. The new YouTube search filters reflect the evolution of the platform and the growing importance of short-form content in 2025.
The overhaul, driven by community feedback, aims to make the search process more intuitive by eliminating outdated features and introducing more useful options. The goal is to help users manage an increasingly large video catalog while improving the relevance and speed of results.
This update also sends a signal to brands and creators: understanding how the new filters work means optimizing content visibility and better intercepting user searches, especially on hot topics like news, tutorials, and software updates.
YouTube Search Filters: The New Shorts Filter
The main novelty of the YouTube search filters This is the introduction of a specific filter for Shorts, positioned in the "Type" category. YouTube thus explicitly recognizes the central role of short-form videos in its ecosystem.
With this new filter, users can precisely decide whether to display only short-form content, only traditional long-form videos, or both in their results. This is a direct response to a growing demand from the community, which is accustomed to consuming content in different ways depending on the context.
For creators and businesses, this means being able to design separate content strategies for short-form and long-form videos, knowing that users will have clearer tools to filter and find what they're looking for. From an internal SEO perspective, it's crucial to work on titles, descriptions, and formats based on this new filter.
The weight of Shorts, according to trends also observable on other platforms such as TikTok or Instagram Reels, is set to grow further, and the update of the YouTube search filters this is a clear confirmation of this.
New Terminology in YouTube Search Filters: From "Sort By" to "Prioritize"“
In addition to introducing the Shorts filter, YouTube is also tweaking the terminology of two key interface elements. The "Sort By" category is now "Prioritize," while the "View Count" filter is being renamed "Popularity.".
These changes aren't purely cosmetic: "Prioritize" better communicates the idea of prioritizing certain criteria, highlighting the concept of hierarchical ranking of results. "Popularity," on the other hand, makes it clearer that the criterion isn't limited to just counting views, but takes into account the content's success more broadly.
For those who do marketing and content strategy, this semantic variation in YouTube search filters It's significant. It indicates that the algorithm increasingly considers composite engagement signals (likes, comments, shares, watch time) and not just view volume. Looking ahead, optimizing popularity means working on perceived quality and the ability to generate interactions.
This logic is in line with what already happens in other digital ecosystems, where metrics such as viewing time and engagement count more than impressions alone, as also reported by analyses on YouTube Data API.
YouTube Search Filters: "Last Hour" and "Rating" Removed“
The most drastic aspect of the update is the elimination of two historical filters from the YouTube search filters"Last Hour" and "Rating." YouTube explained that these options "didn't work as intended and contributed to user complaints.".
The removal of the "Last Hour" filter suggests that the feature wasn't delivering truly up-to-date or relevant results, especially for news and time-sensitive content. In practice, many users weren't finding sufficiently relevant videos posted in the last hour, leading to frustration.
Regarding "Rating," the choice is consistent with the platform's historical evolution: YouTube long ago abandoned the star rating system, replacing it with the simpler like/dislike system. Continuing to offer a filter based on an outdated rating concept was no longer aligned with the current model.
This repositioning reflects the importance of freshness and perceived quality of content, particularly for searches related to news, tutorials on new technologies, or software updates. For brands, this means that timely publication and the ability to generate engagement become even more crucial to standing out in the results.
In parallel, YouTube's attention to user experience follows similar dynamics to those highlighted by other global platforms, as also documented by Statesman regarding online video consumption trends.
How to Use YouTube's New Search Filters on Desktop and Mobile
On the interface front, access to the new YouTube search filters It remains consistent with user habits. On desktop, the button to access filters continues to be located at the top right of the screen after starting a search.
On mobile devices, however, users will need to continue tapping the three vertical dots in the upper right corner to view filter options. This maintains a consistent user experience, minimizing the learning curve.
The update of the YouTube search filters It will be gradually rolled out to all users over the coming weeks. Over the course of 2025, the search experience should be more streamlined, consistent with how people consume video content today: a mix of shorts, long-form, educational content, and entertainment.
For those managing business channels, this is the ideal time to review video categories, titles, and descriptions to align them with the new filters and improve the discoverability of key content.
YouTube Search Filters: Impact on Marketing and Business
The new ones YouTube search filters They have a direct impact on digital marketing strategies and the way companies build their video presence. The ability to more precisely filter shorts and traditional videos is pushing brands to develop separate editorial plans for different objectives: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
For example, short videos can be used to gain rapid reach and capture quick searches, while long-form videos remain essential for detailed tutorials, product demos, and educational content. Knowing that users can filter results based on format and popularity makes it even more important to carefully consider the structure, CTAs, and informational value of each piece of content.
From a customer experience perspective, these updates to YouTube search filters They help users find specific answers more quickly: guides on features, troubleshooting, updates, and comparisons. Companies that invest in clear, query-specific content (such as "how to use WhatsApp Business for customer support") can address critical moments in the customer journey.
Integration and consistency between YouTube videos and other digital channels (website, e-commerce, chatbots, WhatsApp campaigns) become a competitive advantage: video is no longer just content, but a central asset of the omnichannel strategy.
How SendApp Can Help with YouTube Search Filters
To make the most of the new YouTube search filters, companies must integrate video content into their direct communication strategies, especially on WhatsApp Business. This is where SendApp comes in, allowing you to distribute videos, short-form videos, and long-form videos in a targeted manner through automations and conversational campaigns.
With SendApp Official, Based on the official WhatsApp API, brands can connect their digital properties (website, CRM, video platforms) to WhatsApp and send links to relevant YouTube videos based on user requests at scale. This allows them to capitalize on the visibility gained from the new filters, moving users from search results to one-on-one conversations.
SendApp Agent It helps support and sales teams manage conversations by quickly sharing the most suitable videos (short or in-depth content) in response to customer questions. This way, the work done to optimize content for YouTube search filters translates into concrete assistance and pre-sales tools.
With SendApp Cloud, companies can create marketing automation workflows that combine segmentation, sending YouTube links, and personalized messages on WhatsApp. For example, after an opt-in on a landing page, a sequence can be activated that first sends an introductory short video and then a long-form video with more in-depth information, following the usage logic highlighted by the new filters.
For those who want to transform YouTube into an integrated lead generation and customer care channel, the next step is to connect videos, filterable content, and conversations. SendApp offers all the tools to do this easily and scalably, from API management to team collaboration.
If you want to understand how to strategically combine new YouTube search filters With WhatsApp Business and automation, request a dedicated consultation on the site SendApp and evaluate a free trial of the solutions best suited to your business.
