How YouTube Discovery works

Last updated: September 18, 2026

Overview

YouTube Discovery lets you search Superfiliate's YouTube creator database to find, evaluate, and shortlist creators for your program — powered by first-party creator and audience data rather than scraped estimates.

Use this feature when you want to:

  • Find new YouTube creators who fit your niche, audience, and size criteria

  • Find creators similar to one you already like using a handle as a lookalike "seed"

  • Build and export shortlists of creators (with contact emails) to hand off to outreach

Important Limitations

Data coverage

  • Discovery surfaces creators in Superfiliate's YouTube database; extremely small or brand-new channels may not appear.

  • Audience metrics (age, gender, location, interests) are estimates and may not be available for every creator.

Step-by-Step

Searching for YouTube creators

  1. Open Discovery and select the YouTube tab.

  2. Choose your content type — long-form or Shorts — to match how you want creators evaluated.

  3. Use the search bar to enter keywords, or start from filters.

  4. Narrow results with filters:

    • Followers and Engagement rate (ranges)

    • Categories and Affinity / in-market interests

    • Audience — age range, gender, and location

    • Creator location, hashtags, links, and brand mentions

    • Has email to show only reachable creators

  5. Sort results (e.g., by followers or engagement) using the sort control.

  6. Click any creator to open their profile and review their stats, audience breakdown, and recent content.

Finding similar creators (lookalike search)

  1. Open a creator profile you like.

  2. Select Find similar to use that creator as a lookalike seed.

  3. Review the surfaced creators with comparable niche, size, and audience.

Saving and exporting a shortlist

  1. Select the creators you want to keep.

  2. Add them to a creators list.

  3. Open the list and use Export to download the creators, including available contact emails, for outreach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What's the difference between long-form and Shorts mode?
It changes how creators and their content are evaluated — pick the format that matches the type of partnership you're planning.

Q2: Why don't some creators have an email?
Contact emails aren't available for every creator. Turn on the Has email filter to only see creators you can reach directly.

Q3: How is the audience data sourced?
It comes from first-party YouTube data, which is more accurate and compliant than scraping-based tools. Some fields are estimated and may not be present for every creator.

Q4: Can I find creators similar to one I already work with?
Yes — open that creator's profile and use Find similar to run a lookalike search.

Q5: How do I get my shortlist to my team?
Add creators to a list, then export the list to a file with available emails for outreach.