Google adds “Preferred Sources” button and AI-driven personalization to Search, Discover, and News

Google announced on Thursday a trio of personalization updates for its Search, Discover, and News platforms, headlined by a new interactive button that allows readers to directly support their favorite news publishers. The "Preferred Sources" button, which publishers can embed on their own websites, lets users add a site to their list of preferred sources with a single click, immediately returning them to the publisher's page. This feature is designed to boost visibility for selected outlets in Google's Top Stories, AI Overviews, and AI Mode.

The announcement comes as publishers have faced declining referral traffic from Google due to the rise of AI-generated search features. The new button offers a direct way for readers to signal their support, which in turn helps publishers maintain a stronger connection with their audience. According to Google, users who select a preferred source are twice as likely to click through to that publisher's content when it appears.

"People have now selected more than 600,000 unique sources," said Mrinalini Loew, general manager of the Google Search Ecosystem team. This represents a significant increase from the more than 345,000 sources reported...