Google is making it easier for people to support their favorite publications by introducing a new “Preferred Sources” button webmasters can add to their websites. “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. After clicking the button, you’ll see the publication appear more frequently Google Search, including in Top Stories, AI Overviews and AI Mode.
The button formalizes something publishers, including Engadget, had been independently adding their websites for a while now. Even with referral traffic from Google declining in recent years due to products like AI Overviews and AI Mode, the company’s search engine remains an important source of revenue for many media outlets. To that point, one has to wonder if Google is adding this feature now in attempt to appease at least some publishers. Facing pressure from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, in June the company announced it would begin allowing websites to opt out of appearing in AI-generated search results. How much this latest measure actually helps publishers, if at all, will be instructive.
Separately, Google will soon begin rolling out an update to its Discover feed, which you can find in the Google app, Chrome and on Android, to allow you to curate the content it surfaces by conversing with the company’s Gemini chatbot. Google will first release the update through its mobile app, where you’ll find Gemini by tapping the three-dot icon next to any story. “Your feed will adjust on the fly, and remember your requests,” says Google. I’m sure some people will find this feature useful, but it mostly feels like an attempt by the company to juice Gemini’s usage numbers, so it can justify to investors its growing CapEx spending on AI infrastructure. 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 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. So as always, be patient if you don’t see them right away. If you see the Preferred Sources button on Engadget, be a pal and click it if you’re so inclined.
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