Google is encouraging publishers to add a button that allows readers to choose them.
Google is providing publishers with a button for their websites. When clicked, this button adds the publisher to a reader’s preferred sources on Google. This feature is part of three personalization updates the company announced on Thursday. The other updates include a chatbot for adjusting the Discover feed and controls for selecting topics in audio news briefings.
Mrinalini Loew, who leads the Google Search ecosystem team, emphasized that all three changes empower readers while enabling publishers to foster stronger, direct connections with their audiences. The button particularly benefits those who produce the content.
How the button functions
When a reader clicks it on a publisher’s page, Google designates that site as a Preferred Source and takes the reader back to where they left off. This return feature is significant, as the badge that Google introduced earlier this year redirected readers to Google’s own source preferences tool instead, and they remained there.
Publishers can find the embed code in Google’s Search Central documentation. Implementation is the responsibility of the publisher, along with encouraging readers to click the button.
Benefits of being a preferred source
Google’s materials clarify that sites designated as Preferred Sources have a higher likelihood of appearing in Top Stories. Within AI Overviews and AI Mode, these sites can also showcase a “preferred” badge. These elements have been points of contention between publishers and Google. In July, TNW reported that Reddit was contemplating cutting access to its content for Google, and it wasn't the only platform considering this approach.
The selection count has nearly doubled since May
Google reports that over 600,000 unique sources have now been selected by users. According to Search Engine Journal, the count in May was more than 345,000. This represents an increase of approximately 75% in just three months.
Google did not specify how many users made those selections. The counts reflect distinct sites chosen, so both a site selected once and one chosen many times are counted as one.
Discover turns into a chatbot
The second update transforms feed customization into an interactive experience. In the near future, Google app users will be able to tap a three-dot menu on a Discover card and specify what content they want more or less of. Examples provided by Google include requests for kitchen renovation ideas, eco-friendly content, and weekend road trip videos without camping.
Activating this opens a chatbot-style interface, as reported by The Verge. The chatbot acknowledges the request and outlines what it will focus on, allowing for further adjustments if necessary. After confirming the changes with a “Refresh your feed” button, the new preferences take effect.
According to 9to5Google, the chatbot can ask additional questions to refine the user’s desires. There may also be a dedicated card for access instead of just the menu. Google began testing this feature in December.
The feed retains the request for ongoing adjustments rather than applying them just once. Google characterizes this capability as an adaptive change.
Discover previously had two methods for customization
Users could already follow and unfollow topics, as well as indicate which topics or sources they did not wish to see. The ability to type a personalized request serves as an additional layer of control and is not a substitute for the existing methods. Google has not clarified which control takes precedence in the event of conflicting requests.
Audio briefing topic controls
The third update affects the Google News app on Android. Listeners can now select topics for their daily briefing. Options include Headlines, Business, Entertainment and Lifestyle, Sports, and Science and Technology, with further breakdowns available. For example, the Entertainment category includes Arts and Design, Movies, Music, Theater, and TV.
Google states that briefings will include clear source attribution and links to full articles, which is significant in a format where audio is the main focus and clicks are optional. The deeper segments are sourced from publishers participating in Google’s news AI pilot program, announced in December.
Prompt-tuned feeds become standard
Google is not pioneering this feature. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Bluesky, and X have already implemented ways to customize feeds using AI, as noted by The Verge. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, mentioned in June that he aims to make algorithm customization a core feature of the app rather than a hidden option.
What Google brings is scale; Discover reaches users who have not opted into any feed. It recommends articles based on a reader's interactions across Google’s search engine and apps, with many users not actively choosing any preferences.
The broader context
Publishers have been pushing this year to receive compensation or to withdraw from agreements. Cloudflare set a September deadline for AI crawlers to compensate publishers or lose access. Reddit has started utilizing its own AI for monitoring marketing content as GEO becomes the new SEO. Recent research revealed that ChatGPT and Gemini disagree on the best software in a third of categories, often bypassing review sites altogether.
Preferred Sources represents Google's effort to provide a pathway instead of financial compensation; readers must choose the publishers, and publishers need to encourage that selection
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Google is encouraging publishers to add a button that allows readers to choose them.
Google's new Preferred Sources button allows readers to select a publisher without navigating away from the current page. It secures a position in Top Stories and AI Mode.