Dynamics of electronic phase separation at the laser-induced insulator-metal transition in <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:msub><mml:mi>La</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mn>0.6</mm

Ultrafast optical excitations allow creating new metastable and hidden states in quantum materials. However, the fundamental material properties required to support new emergent order are largely unknown. Here, we show for two colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) manganites that electronic phase separation (EPS) strongly favors nonthermal behavior and exploit this to stabilize an optically induced conducting state. Our results shed light on the role of EPS in the optical control of CMR manganites and provide guidance for the design of materials that can exhibit nonequilibrium states of matter. Published by the American Physical Society 2024