Threads is testing out advanced search features and AI summaries for trending topics

Threads is making more changes to address long-running complaints from users. This time, the company is testing out improvements to its search and trending topics feature in updates that Adam Mosseri described as “long-overdue improvements.”

On search, Threads is testing the ability to search for posts within specific date ranges and account-specific searches. The changes are similar to some of X’s advanced search capabilities and could make it easier for users to look for a specific post they want to revisit. The lack of advanced search on Threads has long been frustrating and up to now, the most reliable way to search for a specific Threads post was to use Google.

Threads is also experimenting with AI-powered summaries for its “trending now” topics, which shows US users a handful of popular topics on the platform. The app will also show an “expanded set” of up to 15 trends (currently, Threads only displays five trends at a time). The changes sound a little more like how X handles trends, which are sometimes summarized by its “Grok” AI feature. (Grok has somewhat of a mixed track record when it comes to accuracy, however.) It’s unclear how Meta plans to handle these summaries, though the company already uses Meta AI to summarize Facebook comments and discussions in groups.

The new tests are the latest in a flurry of updates from Threads. In the last week, Meta has also announced a test of custom feeds, which it made official just five days later, and improvements to users’ algorithmic feeds. Those changes also just happen to coincide with a huge surge in growth for Threads competitor Bluesky. The decentralized service has grown to more than 20 million users and has had several days where its growth has rivaled Threads daily sign-up numbers.