What This Update Actually Is
HubSpot's global search bar has always shown a fixed set of properties in the results dropdown. You saw whatever HubSpot decided to surface, regardless of what your team actually needed to identify a record quickly.
That's changed. You can now open search, click the settings cog, and pick exactly which properties appear in both the preview panel and the main search list view for every object type. You can also drag and drop those properties into any order you want.
The change applies to contacts, companies, deals, tickets, and custom objects. Admins get an extra option: push their configuration to everyone in the portal instead of keeping it personal. This isn't a cosmetic tweak. It's a meaningful shift in how quickly your humans can move from search to action.
Why HubSpot Shipped This
The external problem is simple: search results that show irrelevant properties slow everyone down. A sales rep searching for a deal doesn't need to see the record creation date. They need to see deal stage, close date, and owner at a glance.
The internal frustration goes deeper. When your humans can't quickly confirm they've found the right record, they open it to check, realize it's the wrong one, go back, and try again. That loop kills momentum and creates the quiet doubt that makes a CRM feel more like a burden than a tool.
HubSpot's own release notes confirm the historical problem: search result properties were uniform across all users and all portals. No business is uniform. This update acknowledges that.
How to Use It Step by Step
- Click into any search bar in HubSpot to open the search dropdown.
- Click the settings cog icon in the lower right corner of the preview panel.
- In the settings window, select your object type: contacts, companies, deals, tickets, or custom objects.
- Choose the properties you want to see. You can customize both the preview panel (the side card) and the main search list view independently.
- Drag and drop properties into the order that makes the most sense for how your team identifies records.
- If you're an admin, decide whether to save the configuration for yourself or apply it to all users in the portal. That second option is the power move for RevOps teams.
The whole setup takes less than five minutes per object type. There's no workflow to build, no code to write, and no approval process. You configure it, save it, and it's live.
What It Touches in Your HubSpot Strategy
On the surface, this is a search UX change. Underneath, it connects to several areas of your portal strategy.
Property strategy is the first ripple. The properties you surface in search should be the same high-value fields your team uses to qualify, segment, and prioritize. If you haven't audited those recently, this is a good reason to. A messy property structure will produce messy search results no matter how well you configure this feature.
Key Takeaway
The properties you choose for search results reveal which data points your team actually relies on. If you can't quickly name the right properties, it's a signal that your CRM data strategy needs a review.
Custom objects benefit here more than any default object type. Custom objects have always been harder to identify in search because the default display properties rarely match how your team thinks about those records. Now you can fix that directly.
This update pairs well with the streamlined CRM index and flexible view changes HubSpot shipped earlier. That update gave you control over how records display inside index pages. This one gives you the same control the moment a record surfaces in search. Together, they make a stronger case for treating your CRM view configuration as a strategic decision, not a default setting you accept.
For teams using conditional property logic, the search display configuration is a downstream benefit. When your conditional properties are set up correctly, the right properties exist on the right records. Surfacing them in search closes the loop.
If you haven't explored conditional property logic with combination operators, that's worth a look. Getting your property architecture right before you configure search display will save you from having to redo both.
Key Takeaway
Admins who push a portal-wide search configuration create a consistent experience for every human on the team. This is especially valuable during onboarding, when new reps are still learning which records are which.
If you're not sure which properties deserve front-row placement, start with your portal audit. Our HubSpot portal audit checklist covers more than 70 items, including property hygiene and data quality checks that will inform exactly this kind of decision.
Who Should Care Most
This update is available on every hub and every tier, so the question isn't access. It's priority. Here's who gets the most value fastest.
- RevOps admins who manage multi-team portals: configure it once portal-wide and eliminate a source of daily friction for every rep.
- Sales teams working high-volume pipelines: surface deal stage, close date, and owner in search so reps confirm the right deal in one glance instead of three clicks.
- Service teams handling tickets: show ticket status, priority, and assigned rep in the preview panel so support humans don't open the wrong record mid-conversation.
- Portals using custom objects: finally get meaningful identification fields in search results for objects that have historically shown generic or unhelpful default properties.
- Any growing company onboarding new humans to HubSpot: a consistent, admin-configured search view reduces the learning curve and builds confidence in the CRM from day one.
George's Take
I've been inside hundreds of HubSpot portals, and one of the most consistent pain points I see is humans losing trust in their CRM because they can't quickly confirm what they're looking at. They search, they squint at the default properties, they open the record, realize it's the wrong contact, close it, and search again. That tiny loop, repeated dozens of times a day, adds up to real frustration and real time lost. This update is small on the surface but meaningful in practice because it lets the portal meet the humans where they actually work, not the other way around. Set it up for your team, push it portal-wide if you're an admin, and use the moment as a prompt to ask whether your most important properties are actually getting the visibility they deserve.
“A CRM your team doesn't trust is a CRM your team doesn't use. Giving humans faster, clearer search results is one of the simplest ways to rebuild that trust.”
If this update made you realize your property structure needs attention before you can configure search results the right way, that's exactly the kind of clarity we help with at Sidekick Strategies. Book a HubSpot strategy call and let's look at your portal together. We'll help you figure out which properties deserve the front row and where the bigger opportunities are hiding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is HubSpot's Customizable Search Results Display?
It's a HubSpot feature released August 31, 2026, that lets you choose which properties appear in global search results for contacts, companies, deals, tickets, and custom objects. You can customize both the preview panel and the main list view, and reorder properties by dragging and dropping them into your preferred order.
Which HubSpot hubs and tiers include the customizable search display?
All hubs and all tiers. Whether you're on a free portal or a full Enterprise suite, this feature is available to you. No tier upgrade is required to configure your search results display.
Can HubSpot admins apply search display settings to all users?
Yes. When an admin configures the search results display, they can choose to save it for themselves only or push the configuration to every user in the portal. Pushing portal-wide is the recommended approach for RevOps teams who want a consistent experience across the whole organization.
How do I access the search results display settings in HubSpot?
Click into any HubSpot search bar to open the dropdown, then click the settings cog icon in the lower right of the preview panel. From there, select your object type, choose your properties, and drag them into order. The whole process takes under five minutes per object type.
Does this update affect custom objects in HubSpot?
Yes, and custom objects benefit the most. Default search properties for custom objects have historically been generic. Now you can select the exact fields that help your team identify the right record instantly, making custom objects significantly more usable in day-to-day workflows.
What's the difference between the preview panel and the main search list view in this update?
The preview panel is the side card that appears when you hover over or select a result in the search dropdown. The main list view is the full results page. HubSpot's update lets you configure different property sets for each, so you can show summary info in the preview and more detail in the full list.
