This feature extends the Preferred Sources program introduced in May for AI Overviews and Top Stories. By placing the button directly on their own pages, publishers can encourage visitors to prioritize their content. Data from the initial rollout indicates that users are twice as likely to engage with a site they have explicitly marked as a favorite, providing a potential lifeline for traffic-dependent businesses struggling with the shift toward AI-generated summaries.
Google expands publisher controls to counter AI-driven traffic drops
Faced with shrinking referral traffic, Google is granting publishers a new tool to reclaim audience loyalty. Websites can now embed a "Preferred Source" button, allowing readers to manually flag outlets they trust, ensuring those specific sites receive increased visibility across Google Search, Discover, and the company’s news aggregation surfaces.
Beyond site-specific preferences, Google is rolling out natural language controls for the Discover feed. Users will soon be able to issue direct commands through the three-dot menu to influence content recommendations in real-time. These updates arrive as competitors also pivot toward user-controlled algorithms, signaling a broader industry trend to mitigate the friction caused by automated content curation. Android users will also gain the ability to customize daily audio briefings within the Google News app, further decentralizing how the platform manages user feeds.
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