Google’s Preferred Sources setting can make selected sites appear more often or more prominently in Top Stories when they have fresh, relevant coverage. Google has also extended the preference to AI Overviews and AI Mode, where selected sites can be labeled. It is not a general boost to a site’s organic Search ranking: Google says the setting is not a ranking signal outside generative AI Search features.
What Preferred Sources changes in Google Search
Preferred Sources is a reader-controlled preference. When someone selects a website, Google may give that site more prominence in certain Search features if it has fresh, relevant content for the query. The preference changes how results are presented; it does not promise that the site will appear for every search or replace other sources.
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Top Stories and “From your sources”
For a news-related search, users can open the selector beside Top Stories, find and select websites, then refresh the results. Google says selected sites may appear more frequently in Top Stories or in a dedicated “From your sources” section, alongside other results. The condition is that the sites have fresh and relevant material for that search. Users can select as many sources as they like and manage their selections. Google’s August 12, 2025 announcement describes the selection process.
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AI Overviews and AI Mode
Google announced on May 27, 2026, that Preferred Sources had also come to AI Overviews and AI Mode. Links from selected sites can be labeled in those AI features. Google says users can add sources through Search personalization settings. Its announcement reported more than 345,000 unique sources selected at that time. Google’s announcement about original, quality content explains the expansion.
Regular organic results
Google says Preferred Sources will not be used as a ranking signal for Search results outside generative AI Search features. In other words, selecting a site does not, according to Google, improve that site’s general organic ranking. The distinction is between a user’s presentation preference in named features and the broader ranking of ordinary Search results. Google’s website-owner guidance, published June 3, 2026 and updated August 31, 2026, states this scope explicitly.
How to select a preferred source
- Search Google for a topic with news coverage.
- Find Top Stories and open the source selector beside it.
- Search for the website you want, then select it.
- Refresh the results to see whether selected sources appear in Top Stories or “From your sources.”
Google’s feature guidance also says users can manage their selections. The exact controls displayed can vary by account or interface.
Where the feature is available
Google first launched Preferred Sources in the United States and India in August 2025. Although a June 2025 customization overview had described an earlier Labs experiment, Google said users in those two countries did not need to sign up for Labs at launch. Google then announced worldwide availability for English-language users on December 16, 2025, with a further rollout to supported languages planned. On April 30, 2026, it said the feature was available in all supported languages. These are Google’s stated rollout milestones; they do not mean the feature is available in unsupported languages or that every account and interface presents identical controls. The launch announcement, the December 2025 availability update, and the April 2026 language update give the dated details.
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Google encourages publishers to invite readers to select their sites. In an August 20, 2026 announcement, Google described an embeddable Preferred Source button: a reader clicks it to add the site as a preferred source and is returned to the publisher’s page. Google says selected sites may then be easier to find in Top Stories, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. That is an audience-engagement option, not a ranking guarantee or a paid affiliate program. Google’s announcement reported more than 600,000 unique sources selected by that date. Google’s personalization update describes the button and figure.
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How to interpret Google’s reported results
Google has said users are twice as likely to click through after marking a site as a Preferred Source. The company made that comparison in its December 2025 rollout update and again in April 2026. The cited announcements do not provide the underlying sample, study design, timeframe, denominator, or uncertainty, so the figure should be understood as Google’s own reported comparison—not as independently verifiable evidence that selecting a source causes more clicks. The December update and the April update report the comparison.
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