--- title: "Trending Videos" description: "Three tools for discovering what YouTube is recommending and what's going viral right now — search YouTube's auto-updated suggested video catalog with advanced filters, browse curated breakout hits from small channels that are punching well above their weight, or find faceless and AI-generated outlier videos." source: "https://dashboard.nexlev.io/docs/mcp/trending-videos" --- # Trending Videos Three tools for discovering what YouTube is recommending and what's going viral right now — search YouTube's auto-updated suggested video catalog with advanced filters, browse curated breakout hits from small channels that are punching well above their weight, or find faceless and AI-generated outlier videos. ## Prerequisites - **Connected AI assistant** — Claude, ChatGPT, or any other supported platform - **Active NexLev account** — [Connect to your AI assistant](/docs/mcp/quickstart) to get started. [Upgrade to Pro](?required_nexlev_lite_pro_access=true) for higher quota limits. > **Info** > > Your AI assistant calls these tools automatically. Just describe what you want > in plain language and NexLev handles the rest. ## Tools ### YouTube Suggested #### `search_youtube_suggested_videos` Search the auto-updated catalog of videos YouTube actively suggests to users — the home feed and "Up Next" recommendations. Each result carries a precomputed **outlier score** so your AI can instantly surface breakout videos without any extra analysis step. **Best for:** - "What is YouTube recommending right now?" - "Find trending video ideas in the [niche] space" - "Show me breakout videos with a high outlier score from small channels" - "What are the newest suggested videos published this week?" - "Find Shorts YouTube is pushing in the finance category" **What it returns:** - Video title, thumbnail, view count, like count, comment count - Publish date, duration, engagement rate - Channel subscriber count (`channelSubCount`) — pre-joined, no extra lookup needed - **Outlier score** — how much the video over-performs vs the channel average **Outlier score guide:** | Score | Signal | | ----- | ------------------------------------------ | | ≥ 1 | Above channel average | | ≥ 2 | Strong breakout — well worth investigating | | ≥ 3 | Exceptional — viral-level outperformance | **Example prompts:** ``` What is YouTube suggesting right now in the AI tools niche? ``` ``` Find breakout videos from small channels with an outlier score above 2, sorted by outlier score ``` ``` Show me trending YouTube Shorts in the personal finance category published this month ``` ``` Find videos YouTube is pushing from channels with under 50K subscribers that have unusually high views ``` ``` Show me the top 10 most-liked suggested videos in the business niche from the last 30 days ``` **Filters & parameters:** All parameters are optional. Filters only apply to videos where the field exists. | Parameter | Type | Description | | ------------------------------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `query` | string | Keyword search on video title | | `ytChannelId` | string | Exact channel ID | | `category` | string | Keyword match on category name (e.g. `Finance`, `Gaming`) | | `tag` | string | Keyword match on tags | | `isFromHomeFeed` | boolean | `true` = home feed only; `false` = exclude home feed; omit = all | | `isShorts` | boolean | Filter by Shorts flag | | `isMadeWithAi` | boolean | Filter AI-generated content | | `isMonetized` | boolean | Filter by monetization status | | `ageRestricted` | boolean | Filter by age-restriction flag | | `minViews` / `maxViews` | number | View-count range | | `minLikes` / `maxLikes` | number | Like-count range | | `minComments` / `maxComments` | number | Comment-count range | | `minDuration` / `maxDuration` | number | Duration range in seconds | | `minEngagementRate` / `maxEngagementRate` | number | `(likes + comments) / views` ratio | | `minPublishDate` / `maxPublishDate` | string | ISO date, e.g. `2026-01-01` | | `minSubscriberCount` / `maxSubscriberCount` | number | Maps to `channelSubCount` | | `minOutlierScore` / `maxOutlierScore` | number | `≥1` above avg, `≥2` strong breakout, `≥3` exceptional | | `sortBy` | enum | `createdAt` (default), `views`, `outlierScore`, `publishDate`, `subscriberCount`, `likes`, `engagementRate`, `duration` | | `sortOrder` | enum | `asc`, `desc` (default) | | `limit` | number | Results per page — 1–100, default 20 | | `page` | number | Page number, default 1 | **Pagination:** Ask your AI to "show more results" or "get the next page" — it will increment the page parameter automatically. The response includes `hasMore: true/false` to signal whether more results exist. > **Tip** > > Combine `isFromHomeFeed: true` with `minOutlierScore: 2` and > `maxSubscriberCount: 50000` to find small channels that YouTube's algorithm is > actively amplifying — a strong early signal for emerging niches. ### Viral — Small Channels #### `search_viral_videos_small_channels` Search NexLev's curated collection of breakout hits — videos where a low-subscriber channel received unusually high view counts. The collection is refreshed continuously and limited to videos published within the **last 90 days** so results are always fresh. **Best for:** - "Find viral videos from channels with under 10K subscribers" - "Show me recent breakout videos from tiny channels with over 500K views" - "What are the newest viral hits from small YouTube channels?" - "Find long-form viral videos from channels under 50K subs" **What it returns:** - Video title, thumbnail, view count, video duration - Channel subscriber count (`channelSubCount`) - Publish date and collection date - Direct video ID for further analysis **Data rules:** - Deleted videos are always excluded automatically - Videos published more than **90 days ago** are excluded — the collection focuses on recent breakouts - `channelSubCount` may be missing on some older records — subscriber filters only match documents that have the field **Example prompts:** ``` Show me viral videos from channels with under 10K subscribers ``` ``` Find recent breakout videos from small channels with over 1 million views ``` ``` What are the newest viral YouTube hits from tiny channels this month? ``` ``` Find long-form viral videos (over 10 minutes) from channels under 50K subs, sorted by views ``` ``` Show the most-viewed viral videos from small channels added to the collection today ``` **Filters & parameters:** All parameters are optional. | Parameter | Type | Description | | ------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `query` | string | Case-insensitive keyword match on title (regex-escaped) | | `minViews` / `maxViews` | number | View-count range | | `minChannelSubCount` / `maxChannelSubCount` | number | Channel subscriber count range — use `maxChannelSubCount` to focus on small channels | | `minVideoLengthSeconds` / `maxVideoLengthSeconds` | number | Duration range in seconds | | `ytChannelId` | string | Exact YouTube channel ID to filter by | | `sortBy` | enum | `createdAt` (default), `videoViews`, `publishedAt`, `channelSubCount` | | `sortOrder` | enum | `asc`, `desc` (default) | | `limit` | number | Results per page — 1–100, default 20 | | `page` | number | Page number, default 1 | **Pagination:** The response includes `total`, `totalPages`, and `page` — ask your AI to "get page 2" or "show more viral videos" and it will handle the next page automatically. > **Tip** > > Combine `maxChannelSubCount: 10000` with `minViews: 500000` and `sortBy: > createdAt` to catch the freshest viral anomalies from micro-channels as soon > as they're indexed. > **Note** > > This collection covers only the **last 90 days**. For older viral videos or > the full YouTube catalog, use the **YouTube Suggested** tab (above) or the > `search_videos` tool. ### Faceless Outlier Videos #### `faceless_outliers_videos` Browse NexLev's curated collection of faceless and AI-generated outlier videos — content where the creator never appears on camera and that significantly outperformed its niche average. Filter by category, niche, language, country, views, duration, and outlier score to scout proven faceless content opportunities. **Best for:** - "Find faceless outlier videos in the finance niche" - "Show me AI-generated videos that went viral in the history space" - "Find long-form faceless videos with an outlier score above 2" - "What faceless Shorts are outperforming their niche this month?" **What it returns:** - Video title, thumbnail, view count, duration, publish date - Channel title, avatar, handle, subscriber count, and video count - `isFaceless` and `isAiContent` flags - Outlier score showing how much the video exceeded the channel/niche average > **Note** > > This tool reuses the exact same data and ranking logic behind NexLev's > Faceless Outliers dashboard feed — REST and MCP results never drift apart. **Example prompts:** ``` Find faceless outlier videos in the finance niche ``` ``` Show me AI-generated outlier videos about history published this year ``` ``` Find faceless Shorts with an outlier score above 2 in the productivity space ``` ``` Show me the top faceless outlier videos from channels with under 50K subscribers ``` **Filters & parameters:** All parameters are optional. | Parameter | Type | Description | | ----------------------------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `query` | string | Case-insensitive keyword search on video title | | `categories` | array | Filter by one or more content categories | | `languages` | array | Filter by one or more video languages | | `countries` | array | Filter by one or more channel countries | | `niches` | array | Filter by one or more niches | | `minViews` / `maxViews` | number | Video view-count range | | `minAvgViews` / `maxAvgViews` | number | Channel average-views range | | `minDuration` / `maxDuration` | number | Duration range in seconds | | `minOutlierScore` / `maxOutlierScore` | number | `≥1` above avg, `≥2` strong breakout, `≥3` exceptional | | `minSubscribers` / `maxSubscribers` | number | Channel subscriber-count range | | `minChannelVideoCount` / `maxChannelVideoCount` | number | Channel video-count range | | `minUploadDate` / `maxUploadDate` | string | Date range, format `YYYY-MM-DD` | | `isAiContent` | boolean | Filter by AI-generated flag | | `isFaceless` | boolean | Filter by faceless flag | | `videoType` | enum | `long`, `shorts` | | `ytChannelId` | string | Exact YouTube channel ID | | `sortBy` | enum | `outlierScore` (default), `avgViews`, `videoViews`, `channelSubCount`, `videoLengthSeconds`, `videoPublishedAt`, `createdAt` | | `sortDirection` | enum | `asc`, `desc` (default) | | `limit` | number | Results per page — 1–100, default 20 | | `page` | number | Page number, default 1 | | `excludeSeenVideos` | boolean | Skip videos already surfaced to you — default `true` | **Seen-video behavior:** Repeated identical calls return identical results by default — browsing through this tool never marks videos as "seen" and never consumes your NexLev dashboard feed. Use the `page` parameter to see more results, or set `excludeSeenVideos: false` to allow repeats. > **Tip** > > Combine `isFaceless: true`, `minOutlierScore: 2`, and `videoType: "shorts"` to > surface proven faceless Shorts formats worth replicating in a new niche. ## Advanced Use Cases ### Niche trend scouting ``` Search YouTube suggested videos in the "stoicism" niche from the last 14 days, sort by outlier score descending, show me the top 10 breakout titles and what they have in common ``` ### Small-channel opportunity finder ``` Find viral videos from channels with under 5K subscribers that have over 200K views — what topics are blowing up for tiny channels right now? ``` ### Content gap analysis ``` Search YouTube suggested videos about "AI video editing" published in the last 30 days, then find which angles or formats are underrepresented in the results ``` ### Shorts trend research ``` Show me the top YouTube Shorts being suggested in the fitness niche right now, filtered to channels under 100K subscribers ``` ### Competitor breakout monitoring ``` Check if channel UCxxxxxxx has any videos in the suggested catalog with an outlier score above 2 ``` ## Troubleshooting **No results returned** - Widen your date range or reduce the number of filters — highly specific combinations may return zero matches - For `search_viral_videos_small_channels`, remember the 90-day window: videos older than 90 days are excluded **Outlier scores missing** - Outlier score is precomputed at ingest. Very new videos (indexed within the last few hours) may not have a score yet — try again after a short wait **Subscriber count filter not matching** - `channelSubCount` may be absent on some documents in the viral collection. If you're filtering by subscriber count and getting fewer results than expected, try removing the subscriber filter and scanning results manually **Quota limit reached** - If you've hit your daily limit, [Upgrade to Pro](?required_nexlev_lite_pro_access=true) for higher quota limits ## Rate Limits | Tool | Free | Lite | Pro | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | YouTube suggested videos (`search_youtube_suggested_videos`) | 20 | 150 | 300 | | Viral videos — small channels (`search_viral_videos_small_channels`) | 20 | 150 | 300 | | Faceless outlier videos (`faceless_outliers_videos`) | 20 | 150 | 300 | ## What's Next? - **[Similar Videos](/docs/mcp/similar-videos)** — Find videos similar to any reference video by content and format - **[YouTube Tools](/docs/mcp/youtube-tools)** — Channel outliers, search, videos, shorts, and playlists - **[Channel Analytics](/docs/mcp/channel-analytics)** — Deep-dive metrics for any channel behind a breakout video - **[Niche Overview](/docs/mcp/niche-overview)** — Understand the niche behind any trending channel - **[Similar Channels](/docs/mcp/similar-channel)** — Find more channels like the ones behind breakout videos