YouTube's Trends page for Shorts is now open to every creator. Here's how to actually use it.
YouTube's Trends page, personalized trending-audio and topic inspiration surfaced directly from inside the Shorts player, is now available globally to every creator rather than a limited testing group. Pause a Short and tap Trends at the top to see it. It's a genuinely useful discovery tool, and it's also easy to misuse if it becomes the whole idea-generation process instead of one input into it.
What the Trends page actually surfaces
It shows trending audio and topics personalized to your viewing and creation activity, not a single fixed list every creator sees identically. That personalization is the useful part: it surfaces what's resonating in territory adjacent to what you already make, rather than whatever is trending across the entire platform regardless of relevance.
A trend surface is not a topic bank
Trending audio and topics are a temperature check on what's resonating right now, not a substitute for the deeper, durable idea supply our topic bank guide already argues every channel needs. Use the Trends page to spot an angle worth covering in your own format, narrated, sourced, given real context, rather than chasing every trend as-is; a trend covered the same way everyone else covers it adds nothing a viewer couldn't get elsewhere.
Trends page vs. Studio's Trends tab
| Surface | Built for |
|---|---|
| Shorts-feed Trends page | In-the-moment discovery while browsing |
| YouTube Studio's Trends tab | Research and planning, part of the updated Studio rollout beginning July 2026 |
Both pull from similar underlying trend data, but they serve different moments in a workflow: one for spotting something while scrolling, the other for deliberately researching before you sit down to plan a video.
The honest limit worth naming
A trending sound helps a video surface to viewers already primed for that trend; it doesn't make a weak video perform. The same retention fundamentals our hooks guide already covers still decide whether a viewer stays once the trend got them to click.
Where Thothium fits
Thothium takes a topic straight from research to a finished, scene-based video, so an angle worth covering while it's still relevant doesn't sit in a queue long enough to go stale. It is in free alpha, and the form below gets you a key.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly do I find the Trends page?
From the Shorts feed, pause the video you're watching and tap Trends at the top. It surfaces trending audio and topic inspiration personalized to what you've been watching and making, not a single global list everyone sees the same way.
Is this the same as the Studio Trends tab?
No, and the distinction matters. The Shorts-feed Trends page is discovery-focused, built for browsing what's currently trending while scrolling. YouTube separately began rolling out an updated Studio experience with its own Trends tab starting July 2026, aimed at research and planning rather than in-feed browsing.
Does using a trending audio actually help a video get recommended?
Trending audio can help a video surface to viewers already primed to engage with that trend, but it's a discovery boost, not a substitute for a video that holds attention on its own. A weak video riding a trending sound still underperforms a strong video that doesn't.
Can I use this for a faceless channel that doesn't do trend-reaction content?
Yes, treat it as a topic-temperature check rather than a directive to chase every trend. Seeing what's resonating right now can surface an angle worth covering in your own format and niche, narrated, explained, put in context, without requiring the channel to become a trend-chasing account.
Last updated September 6, 2026. Feature availability and rollout details are per YouTube's own announcements and may vary by account and region.