Hey @Chris_Xi,
Adding a default initial search will affect analytics and search count. In order to surface any results within Answers, a search has to be initiated to trigger a response from the API with the desired search results.
That being said, it is usually very uncommon to end up on the Universal search page without having typed a query. The main exception would be if the client has not implemented a search bar and is instead linking people directly to the Answers experience to initiate a search.
Best,
DJ