Google Rolls Out Embeddable “Preferred Sources” Button To Help Publishers Facing AI Traffic Declines
aiinsider ·
Google announced a new embeddable button that publishers can place on their websites, allowing readers to mark a site as a favorite source for more prominent placement across Google Search, Discover, and Google News. The move responds to criticism that AI-powered search features have reduced website traffic for publishers. It builds on Google's May rollout of Preferred Sources within AI Mode and AI Overviews, which was previously limited to Top Stories. Readers can add favorite publishers through a source preferences page, and people had already selected over 345,000 unique sources since the feature launched in May. Google cited studies showing people were twice as likely to click through to a preferred source. Additionally, Google said readers will soon be able to customize their Discover feed using natural language commands through a three-dot menu. Android users will also gain the ability to customize audio daily briefings within the Google News app.
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