Threads Tests AI-Powered Trending Topics Feature: How it Works

Threads is finally testing a feature that has been highly requested by users ever since the app launched last year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the platform is testing a new Today’s topics section, which will show the topics which have the highest engagement. The feature is based on an artificial intelligence (AI) system, and will work in real-time. It is currently only available in the US, to select users. Today’s topics appear to be similar to the Trending page on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Zuckerberg stated in a Threads post that once the feature was tuned up, it will be rolled out in more countries and more languages. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri also shared a post where he detailed how Today’s topics will work. He said, “Today’s topics on Threads will be on the search page and in the For You feed. The topics are determined by our AI systems based on what people are engaging with right now on Threads.” Mosseri also shared screenshots of how it will appear on the app.

The search page addition is visually somewhat similar to X’s Trending page. However, there are certain differences. On Threads, the trending topics do not require a hashtag or a tag to be included. The topics are seen as plain text, with a heading and what appears to be a top post discussing the topic. As per Mosseri, the heading and the subjects themselves are being picked by AI. As a result, users will not have to see confusing hashtags which sometimes do not reveal the actual topic.

Another place where it appears is on the For You page. Here, it shows in a separate section between posts in a carousel format. It appears similar to the Threads posts section that is displayed on the Instagram app. The heading and the top post appear in small rectangular boxes, in the screenshots shared by Mosseri.

Threads recently began testing another feature that allowed users to bookmark posts. The feature works similarly to the feature in Instagram and X. Just tapping on the Save button will add it to the Saved section that can be accessed by tapping the icon with two horizontal lines (Settings) in the profile.