Google Lets Publishers Add a Preferred Sources Button to Their Sites

Google is giving publishers a new way to ask a reader for something more valuable than a visit: a stated preference. Sites can now embed a Preferred Sources button that lets readers mark the publisher as a favorite for greater visibility in Google’s products.

The feature moves a setting that readers previously reached through Google’s source-preferences page onto publishers’ own sites. A reader can select a publisher by name or website there; the new embed gives publishers a direct prompt to make that choice while a reader is already on their property.

A source choice is different from a topic request

Google is also planning natural-language controls for Discover, its feed in the Google app. Readers will be able to open a three-dot menu and tell Google which topics they want more or less often; Google says those instructions will refine the feed in real time. That is a request about subject matter. Preferred Sources is a request to elevate a particular publisher, with potential effects in Google Search, Discover, Google News, AI Mode, and AI Overviews.

Google has evidence of interest, not a traffic guarantee

Preferred Sources was introduced to Google’s AI experiences in May, after having been available in Top Stories. By that rollout, Google said people had selected more than 345,000 unique sources through the feature. The company also said earlier studies found users were twice as likely to click a preferred source when one was available.

Those figures establish two different things. The source count shows that readers have used the preference mechanism. The click-through result, supplied by Google from earlier studies, suggests a possible distribution benefit once a source is marked. It does not establish how many publishers will persuade visitors to opt in, how often a preferred source will appear for any reader, or how much referral traffic the embed will produce.

The publisher pitch is a conversion step

For publishers, the practical change is a new conversion path: turn an existing visitor into someone who has explicitly asked Google to show that outlet more often. Google says becoming a preferred source can drive more traffic, and its earlier click study gives the company a reason to make that case. But the button is an opt-in preference signal, not a referral guarantee; its value will depend on readers choosing it and on Google surfacing the chosen source in the relevant products.