| UI or UX | UI + UX - Passive history of submitted search queries that can be rerun | UI + UX - Suggested-query surface | UI + UX - Persisted named search criteria for rerunning a dynamic result set | UI + UX - Automatic list of items the current user opened recently |
| UI guidance | Render recently searched as a labelled list of query strings the current user actually submitted, ordered newest first, with query text, scope or source, timestamp, and a clear affordance to rerun each query. | Render a search field with query suggestions, active option, selected suggestion, and no-suggestion state. | Render Save search near the active query and result summary, and show exactly which query text, filters, scope, and sort will be stored. | Render a labelled list or rail of items the current user actually opened, ordered most recent first, with enough identity to recognize each item such as name, type, thumbnail or icon, location, status, and last-viewed time. |
| UX guidance | Use recently searched to help users recall and repeat prior search paths without recreating exact wording, especially in large search surfaces where the same query may be useful later. | Help users formulate better search queries without forcing a choice. | Use saved search when users repeatedly need the same dynamic result set and must rerun it without rebuilding query, filters, sort, and scope. | Use recently viewed to reduce re-finding effort when users compare items, pause work, resume documents, or return to records they inspected during the current or recent sessions. |
| Good UI | A knowledge search box opens to Recently searched with benefit appeal deadline, housing evidence upload, and debt advice appointment, each showing scope, time, result count, and a remove control. | Suggestions appear directly below the search field with active row, readable labels, and optional matched text. | A search results page shows Save search beside the result count, opens a naming dialog, and previews query, filters, scope, and sort before saving. | A procurement dashboard shows Recently viewed records with title, record type, status, project, last-viewed time, and a remove control for each row. |
| Bad UI | A list called Recent includes promoted queries, saved searches, recently viewed suppliers, and another user's sensitive query. | Suggestions overlay unrelated content without a dismiss path. | A star icon saves an unnamed search with no confirmation or criteria summary. | A homepage shows a Recently viewed carousel filled with promoted products the user never opened. |
| Good UX | A user reruns benefit appeal deadline from recent searches and returns to the current result set without creating or modifying a saved search. | Users can keep typing, choose a suggestion, dismiss suggestions, or submit their own query. | A user saves a search for Open renewal risks, returns next week, reruns it, and sees newly matching cases included. | A user opens several supplier records, returns to the dashboard, and reopens the most recent record without reconstructing the search. |
| Bad UX | A shared kiosk shows a prior user's health search because the list has no account or device boundary. | Auto-submitting the top suggestion. | Saving search stores only the current three results, so future matching records are missing. | Users trust a Recently viewed rail as a recommendation and choose an irrelevant item because sponsored content was mixed into history. |
| Best fit | Users revisit a search surface and benefit from rerunning recent query wording. | The system can predict likely queries. | Users repeat the same search criteria across sessions or operational cycles. | Users inspect multiple objects and often need to return to one they recently opened. |
| Avoid when | The search surface is public, shared, signed out, or privacy-sensitive and cannot provide clear controls. | Suggestions are low quality or biased toward irrelevant content. | The query is a one-off lookup that users will not need again. | The content set is tiny, linear, or easy to scan without history. |
| Required state | Empty or hidden state before any qualifying query has been submitted. | No input state. | Unsaved current search with Save search available only when criteria are meaningful. | Empty or hidden state before any qualifying item has been viewed. |
| Accessibility burden | Use a heading or labelled region that identifies the list as recent search history. | Expose the suggestions list and active option. | Use labelled form fields for saved-search name, description, visibility, and subscription settings. | Use a heading or labelled region that describes the scope of the list. |
| Common misuse | Recording unsubmitted keystrokes as search history. | Auto-submitting the top suggestion without confirmation. | Saving static result IDs instead of reusable criteria. | Filling recently viewed with recommendations, ads, popular items, or related content. |