VIPs can opt in to a new “experimental” search engine in the settings. Please let me know if the accuracy is better with this new engine.
Just checking is the new experimental search web only or also used on the app? (@Ohifriend)
As I search on both soooooo 
The new search engine is the default for all VIP members now. New topic has more details, please post any bugs or feedback in that topic.
I’m not 100% sure how this is working from the API side of things. My guess is that if the search results (eg. the order) is different on the app vs the website then it’s website-only atm.
From my test of https://trakt.tv/search/?query=Spiderman it looks like the experimental search is different to what the app shows (via the API) and therefore it’s website only atm.
I’m happy that the search feature is finally getting some love however, it’s still a hit or a miss 99% of the time.
I still find myself using other apps when trying to search for content, because Trakt typically requires the full title usually to get an accurate result.
It’s very frustrating when I need to search for X film and I know that other sources will allow me to search a section of the title, and that other sources understand the context that I’m searching for a film and will autocomplete and/or make an assumption.
I’m not entirely sure how Trakt search works but it feels like an exact match kind of search, when in the form of content, context matters.
(I am VIP with experimental enabled)
Question.
Can i search by last watched time, based on rating? So for example i want to see all 8’s and the last time i watched them. Without exporting (though i can export its not the end of the world). Idea being “I havent watched this amazing movie in a long time”, it would be great to see its been 5 year since the watch
I will say the guy above on the search is correct, wildcard SHOULD be default at the beginning and end of every search, but its not.
It’s not currently possible to do exactly what you’re looking for, but you can filter your ratings page by rating. However, it’s only possible to then sort by the “rated date”, not watched date. Depending on when you rate something (immediately after a watch?) then that could potentially work for your scenario.
Yeah i have most of the integrations setup to rate, however rate date isn’t updated if i’ve already watched something once (unless i’m mistaken) for Kodi and other logins…
Well seeing as during my forced absence the thread got deleted but can be found referenced here Search Is Not Efficient - #12 by Sonply and also archived here: Wayback Machine there are definitely issues with search.
The “solution” by @Sonply in Search Is Not Efficient - #12 by Sonply is really a pretty unsatisfactory response. Sure it can now be found in V3 but that isn’t a solution to “fix” items on a case by case basis.
Especially when chances for me are high that I am trying to find a movie or tv series that for some obscure reason didn’t show up in my Library when syncing with Plex Sync.
Sure I can find the show I detailed in my original response in that now removed thread in V3, but how does that help me trying to add it to my Library which can still only be done in V2? If I can’t find movies or tv shows in V2 how am I supposed to proceed?
It would be so much better if:
(a) there was no difference between searches on V2 and V3
(b) V3 allowed us to also access additions to our Library
(c) we could search on the website using imdb / tmdb IDs
Yes, search is having issues recently. A few examples are Signs and The Comeback. Neither pop up within the first several pages of results. Seems to be a new bug as fairly recently results seemed to lead with the more popular titles.
“Signs” shows up as the first result in both V2 and V3 for me, but The Comeback only in V3. So something is definitely very different between search parameters / results.
It seems that the search keeps getting worse. It feels like a few times a week I search for something and it just doesn’t show up. I’m better off searching IMDb, looking at the cast list, searching an actor on Trakt and finding the movie on their page. Just tried “Prisoners” and it doesn’t show up on at least the first 5 pages. Didn’t bother looking beyond that. Saw plenty of nudity while trying to find it, though. A year ago, I never had this problem. The relevant result was almost always in the top 3, unless it was a particularly generic title, then maybe somewhere in the top 10 on page 1.
It really has gotten bad, I’ve been trying to find old silent movies and it was impossible to find with the search function. For example, the Boris Karloff movie The Bells (1926) couldn’t be found at all, it would instead show movies like The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, which I assume it is prioritising the word “the”. At the very least, they could let me use the year 1926 at the end to find it but that gives me different results but still not the movie I’m looking for
I was thinking that it would awesome if there was a way to search movies and series from specific streaming apps. Say I’m at a friends and they are only able to have a certain app say for instance Amazon prime. It would be convenient in that case to have a list of movies and series available on Prime that are recommended for me based on my trakt history as opposed to what comes up based on their watch history. Or say I have 4 streaming services Prime, Disney+, Britbox and Crave. To be able to filter out shows that I am unable to stream , only showing what is available to me.
Bella 
This is coming soon
I couldn’t help but add to this thread. Being able to search is a very basic function of what this website should be capable of. Making V3 live without a proper search facility is like Netflix not having search and just using categories. I’ve became tired of searching for releases that have no result, either for the title, the actors or the director.
I also can’t figure out what order the results are in, the first 3 films can be relative what i’ve searched for, and then the 4th is a curveball like Borat or Spaceballs. Not being able to filter the results by year or language is shocking. The recent film i couldn’t search for, i had to watch it on Plex for it to scrobble to Trakt, and hey presto, there it was.
If the answer is ‘this is being worked on’, how about a road map for users to see and expect progress with. At least incorporate a filter for the results that are currently showing. I used to love this website, but i am finding myself spending less and less time using it now, and instead spending more time on other websites. Not what i expect as a VIP member, nor what i would expect for anyone on a free tier.