Google has introduced an embeddable "Preferred Sources" button that publishers can place on their websites so readers can mark them as a favorite. Marking a site this way signals that the reader would like that source to be highlighted more often across Google Search, Discover, and Google News.
The company said this interactive button is now available for publishers to add to their own sites. The rollout builds on an earlier May launch when Google added Preferred Sources to its AI experiences, including AI Mode and AI Overviews; the option was previously available in Top Stories as well.
The feature is intended to make it easier for people to find links from sites they trust when searching or interacting with Google’s AI to learn about a topic or read news. According to Google, since the May launch users across the web have already selected over 345,000 unique sources through this method.
How it works and what Google says
- Users can also add a publisher as a favorite from Google’s source preferences page by searching for a publisher by name or website.
- Google says becoming a preferred source can drive additional traffic to a publisher’s site: in earlier studies the company found that people are twice as likely to click through to a preferred source when it is available.
The announcement also included further personalization features: Google said readers will soon be able to customize their Discover feed in the Google app using their own words. To use the feature, readers tap any three-dot menu in the feed and give natural-language commands about which topics they want to see more or less of, allowing Google to refine the feed in real time.
Additional Android customization
Google added that Android users will be able to customize their audio daily briefings in the Google News app as well.
Why this matters
The move is positioned as a response to the traffic declines many publishers have experienced with the rapid growth of AI-powered search features. By offering publishers tools to be marked as preferred and giving users more control over feed content, Google aims to direct more visits back to publisher sites. The company is not alone: in recent months several major social apps have launched user-controlled algorithms that let people fine-tune recommended content.
