YouTube 'Research tab' missing or blank for many, issue officially acknowledged

Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

YouTube, the most popular video platform in the world, is constantly receiving changes and new features. Although, not all changes are well received by users, such as the removal of the public dislikes counter.

YouTube content creators are a key part of the platform. In fact, Google rewards video creators with money once they meet certain requirements.

To manage their channels, YouTube content creators have various tools. Google recently launched the ‘Research tab’ as a new option for them.

However, currently the new feature is behaving erratically for many. According to multiple reports, the YouTube ‘Research tab’ is missing or the data it returns is blank (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

The new YouTube ‘Research tab’ tool allows video creators to find out what the YouTube audience is currently searching for. The company describes it as follows:

You can use the Research tab in YouTube Analytics to explore what your audience, and viewers across YouTube, are searching. This can help you discover content gaps and is a starting point for research to create new videos that viewers are interested in.
Source

That said, the feature is experiencing a couple of major issues currently. First, the data fields of the YouTube Research tab are blank for many (1, 2, 3).

I had access to the YouTube Analytics Research tab this morning. Clicked it on a few times, the page would only load blank… Common problem or just me?
Source

@YouTubeIndia @TeamYouTube Hello @TeamYouTube. As Youtube New Update We All Got Research Tab On Our Youtube Studio But From Some Day This Tab Is Not Working.

As You Can See In Below Screen Shot Research Tab Is Not Working Please Fix This As Soon As Possible.
Source

For other YouTube video creators, the ‘Research tab’ is missing or unavailable. In some cases, creators received the tool, but it disappeared from their accounts shortly after.

@TeamYouTube Why don’t I have a research tab in my analytics page on youtube? My friend who has only 100 more subs than me has it. (I’m at 1300+) I would really like to have this option available as it would help me better cater my content to my audience.
Source

Yesterday for a brief second I had a new feature tab on my analytics page called “Research” and it was gone soon after. Can’t wait to see what this tab is all about for my @YouTube analytics.
Source

The YouTube team posted a couple of official acknowledgments on the matter.

First, regarding YouTube creators who do not have the Research tab, the YouTube support team explains that it is an experimental feature that is only present in some accounts.

On the other hand, regarding the YouTube creators whose tab shows blank data, the company says that they are looking into it.

We’ve seen similar reports of creators having issues with the Research tab missing. We’re aware of the problem and are already looking into it. Mind helping it along by giving us more info about your experience? You can do that by sending feedback: https://yt.be/help/feedback.
Source

We will update this story as events unfold in the future.

NOTE: You can also check the YouTube bugs/issues tracker.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.