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.
The YouTube algorithm and one-time tasks
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
Let me give you a real-world example of the algorithm’s deficiency. I have a pair of expensive German leather boots that I wear nearly every day and love with all my heart. Since I wear them so much, they undergo quite a bit of wear and tear. In the past, I’ve taken them to a cobbler for a refresh every few years, but here in California, that is expensive — and not getting any cheaper. I figured it can’t be that difficult to do annual maintenance on my boots by myself, and doing so would certainly save me money.
I went straight to YouTube with this thought. I searched for “leather boot refresh” and found dozens of high-quality videos going over the tools, polishes, conditioners, and other materials needed for this task, as well as step-by-step instructions. I watched one video — just one! — and knew I could do this myself. I bought the products the video suggested, and when they had all arrived, I re-watched the same video several times as I followed its instructions. My boots look great now — they’re like new!
Watching one ‘How To’ video about a particular topic should not be enough for the algorithm to flood your feed with other ‘How To’ videos on that topic.
One would think that the YouTube algorithm would understand that this process I went through is not at all similar to watching a live concert clip. I am not interested in buying leather boots. I am not looking for other tips on fixing my boots. I am not going to open a cobbler shop. I had a one-time problem — refreshing my boots — and used one YouTube video to solve that problem. If I ever need help again, I’ll search for it (or just watch the same video once more).
Despite how obvious this would seem, this didn’t stop the algorithm from filling my home page with other videos about refreshing leather boots. Seriously, for a few days after I did the refresh, roughly half of my home page was videos related to leather, boots, or cobbler things. Shouldn’t we be beyond this by now? Shouldn’t the algorithm be able to tell the difference between video hours spent watching stuff I enjoy and hours spent using YouTube as a tool?
This makes me want to use YouTube less, not more
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Remember how I had to hold myself back from bingeing entire concerts after watching just one Coachella clip? That’s what has made YouTube so successful. Unfortunately, this problem — its inability to prevent itself from suggesting irrelevant content based on one-time needs — actively makes the home page worse, working against its success. In other words, my feed being covered with boot videos makes me want to navigate away from YouTube. It’s the exact opposite of Google’s intentions!
Has the YouTube algorithm filled your feed with ‘How To’ content before?
12 votes
Based on this, one would think that Google would prioritize preventing this issue. However, given that YouTube has been around for 20 years (man, I’m old) and this problem still exists, it clearly isn’t as much of a priority for Google as I would think.
You’d think Google would want to fix this, considering it makes my home feed less addicting.
To Google’s credit, a little more than a week after this happened, my feed cleared all references to boots and leather. It seems the algorithm is smart enough now to understand that I didn’t click on any of its suggestions, so I’m not really interested in more boot videos. But what if this wasn’t something related to boot repair, and instead something more sensitive? What if I went to YouTube for a solution to a health-related issue, and suddenly my feed was a beacon to anyone who wants to know about my medical condition? What if I watched a video about how to solve a marital problem, and my feed became filled with other videos about marital problems I am not having? YouTube should be working for us, not against us.
Have you faced a similar problem? What did you search for that the algorithm then pummelled you with other related videos? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to pick something in the poll above, too!
