Google Introduces Preferred Sources to Help Publishers Fight Traffic Losses – Innovation Village

Google is giving publishers a new way to attract readers as AI-powered search continues to change how people discover information online.

The company has introduced a new Preferred Sources button that publishers can add directly to their websites. The feature allows readers to mark a publication as a preferred source, which can help its content appear more frequently across Google Search, Discover, and Google News.

The move comes as publishers continue to deal with declining website traffic linked to the growth of AI-generated search results. Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode can provide users with answers directly on the search page, reducing the need to click through to individual websites.

With Preferred Sources, Google wants to make it easier for users to find content from publishers they already trust.

The feature builds on Google’s earlier rollout of Preferred Sources in May. At the time, the company introduced the option across its AI-powered search experiences, including AI Mode and AI Overviews. It had previously been available within Top Stories.

Google says users have already selected more than 345,000 unique sources through the feature since its initial introduction.

Readers can choose a preferred publisher through Google’s source preferences page by searching for the publication’s name or website. Once selected, content from that source can receive greater visibility when relevant searches and news stories appear.

For publishers, that could translate into more visitors. Google said previous research found that users were twice as likely to click on a preferred source when one was available.

That could make the feature particularly important for websites that depend heavily on search traffic. As Google’s AI tools answer more queries directly, publishers have…