Google Launches Preferred Sources Embed Button and Gemini-Powered Discover Feed
Tech giant expands publisher tools and conversational feed controls across Search and Android
Web publishers can now directly prompt readers to boost their ranking across Google’s search engine using a newly launched “Preferred Sources” button designed for website integration. “When readers click this button, it adds the site as a Preferred Source on Google and immediately directs them back to where they left off on the publisher’s page,” Google explains. Selecting the option ensures that a publication surfaces more frequently in Google Search, spanning features like Top Stories, AI Overviews and AI Mode.
This integration formalizes a practice that media outlets, including Engadget, were already implementing on their own sites. Although incoming referral traffic driven by Google has dropped in recent years as features like AI Overviews and AI Mode take hold, search remains a critical revenue source for news organizations. The timing raises questions regarding whether Google released this capability to appease news creators. Under pressure from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, the company announced in June that webmasters could choose to opt out from AI-generated search results. How much this latest measure actually helps publishers, if at all, will be instructive.
The tension comes as digital media companies navigate structural shifts in search distribution, where automated summaries increasingly keep users on platform pages rather than driving traffic to source websites. Giving users an explicit mechanism to prioritize specific domains represents Google’s latest attempt to balance automated AI features with publisher audience retention.
Separately, Google will soon begin rolling out an update to its Discover feed, accessible in the Google app, Chrome and on Android, allowing users to curate recommended content by conversing with the Gemini chatbot. Google will first release the update through its mobile app, where users can access Gemini by tapping the three-dot icon next to any story. “Your feed will adjust on the fly, and remember your requests,” says Google. While some users may find the functionality useful, it operates largely as a strategy to boost Gemini usage and justify growing CapEx spending on AI infrastructure to investors. Google already offers plenty of easy ways to shape your Discover feed if you don’t find its default suggestions compelling.
If you prefer to listen to the news rather than read it, Google is also making it easier to customize the audio briefings it offers through its Google News app on Android. “You can now curate your briefings by choosing specific topics, along with clear source attribution and links out to full articles, so you can more easily explore what matters most to you,” says Google.
As with any updates from Google, it may take a few days for the user-facing features the company announced today to roll out to your account. Users will need to exercise patience if the updates do not appear immediately across all profiles. Visitors encountering the Preferred Sources button on Engadget can select it to test how the preference impacts their personal search recommendations.
