I want the YouTube algorithm to stop doing this one annoying thing

Why isn't the algorithm smart enough to know that I only searched for a video to fill a temporary need?

May 11, 2025 - 14:06

I want the YouTube algorithm to stop doing this one annoying thing

Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Over the years, the YouTube suggestion algorithm has become pretty complex. I’ve noticed that it can extrapolate my tastes very well based on my watch history, continuously tempting me to consume more videos. For example, I recently watched a live clip of The Prodigy at Coachella. My home screen feed then filled up with not only concert clips from other shows by The Prodigy, but also other artists that I enjoy, such as Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Air, and more. Notably, these artists sound nothing like The Prodigy, but the algorithm is smart enough to assume that my tastes will align with them based on my watch history. I’m not going to lie: I had to stop myself from spending all day watching live concert clips.

This is impressive and something Google has probably spent millions of dollars refining, as it keeps people glued to YouTube and fueling the money-printing machine that it’s become. Curiously, while the algorithm is intelligent enough to do that, it is still completely inept at something else: understanding when I search for a video not because I’m deeply interested in the topic, but because I need help doing a specific task. Even now, in 2025, this still seems to throw the algorithm for a loop.