diff --git a/.changeset/three-rooms-enjoy.md b/.changeset/three-rooms-enjoy.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9856aba0e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/three-rooms-enjoy.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-search': minor
+---
+
+Added support for configuring the default search type in the search page via the `search.defaultType` option in `app-config.yaml`. This applies to both the legacy and new frontend systems. If not set, the default is empty, which means searching for "all" types.
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/search/SearchPage.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/search/SearchPage.tsx
index 743a08561c..b83b83bd65 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/search/SearchPage.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/search/SearchPage.tsx
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import {
   Page,
   useSidebarPinState,
 } from '@backstage/core-components';
-import { useApi } from '@backstage/core-plugin-api';
+import { configApiRef, useApi } from '@backstage/core-plugin-api';
 import { CatalogSearchResultListItem } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog';
 import {
   CATALOG_FILTER_EXISTS,
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ const SearchPage = () => {
   const { isMobile } = useSidebarPinState();
   const { types } = useSearch();
   const catalogApi = useApi(catalogApiRef);
+  const configApi = useApi(configApiRef);
 
   return (
     <Page themeId="home">
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@ const SearchPage = () => {
             <Grid item xs={3}>
               <SearchType.Accordion
                 name="Result type"
-                defaultValue="software-catalog"
+                defaultValue={configApi.getOptionalString('search.defaultType')}
                 showCounts
                 types={[
                   {
diff --git a/plugins/search/README.md b/plugins/search/README.md
index beab698b2e..d0b1aa78e3 100644
--- a/plugins/search/README.md
+++ b/plugins/search/README.md
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ Configure the search query values via `app-config.yaml` to define how it behaves
 ```yaml
 # app-config.yaml
 search:
+  defaultType: 'software-catalog'
   query:
     pageLimit: 50
 ```
diff --git a/plugins/search/config.d.ts b/plugins/search/config.d.ts
index d9a5ce4a1b..0c35082e58 100644
--- a/plugins/search/config.d.ts
+++ b/plugins/search/config.d.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@
 export interface Config {
   /** Configuration options for the search plugin */
   search?: {
+    /**
+     * The default search type to be used when no specific type is selected.
+     * @visibility frontend
+     */
+    defaultType?: string;
     /**
      * An object representing the default search query configuration.
      * By configuring and modifying the values of this object,
diff --git a/plugins/search/src/alpha.tsx b/plugins/search/src/alpha.tsx
index 2efe9978e0..c36ae54d33 100644
--- a/plugins/search/src/alpha.tsx
+++ b/plugins/search/src/alpha.tsx
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import {
   createExtensionInput,
   PageBlueprint,
   NavItemBlueprint,
+  configApiRef,
 } from '@backstage/frontend-plugin-api';
 
 import {
@@ -139,6 +140,7 @@ export const searchPage = PageBlueprint.makeWithOverrides({
           const { isMobile } = useSidebarPinState();
           const { types } = useSearch();
           const catalogApi = useApi(catalogApiRef);
+          const configApi = useApi(configApiRef);
 
           return (
             <Page themeId="home">
@@ -152,7 +154,9 @@ export const searchPage = PageBlueprint.makeWithOverrides({
                     <Grid item xs={3}>
                       <SearchType.Accordion
                         name="Result Type"
-                        defaultValue="software-catalog"
+                        defaultValue={configApi.getOptionalString(
+                          'search.defaultType',
+                        )}
                         showCounts
                         types={[
                           {