Google is introducing a new tool aimed at helping online publishers combat the decline in website traffic caused by AI-driven search features. Starting Thursday, publishers can embed a “Preferred Sources” button on their sites, allowing readers to mark them as favorite sources. This designation can improve the publisher’s visibility and ranking across Google Search, Discover, and Google News, potentially boosting their referral traffic, which has been hurt as AI-generated answers reduce clicks to original content.

This move builds on Google’s prior rollout of Preferred Sources in May, which was initially integrated into AI Mode, AI Overviews, and Top Stories. According to Google’s data, more than 345,000 unique sources had already been designated as preferred by users since the feature’s introduction. By allowing users to select trusted publishers, Google aims to increase the likelihood that searchers click through to authentic news and content sites, noting that users are twice as likely to visit sites labeled as preferred.

In addition to helping publishers, Google is enhancing reader control over content recommendations. Soon, users will be able to customize their Discover feed within the Google app by providing natural language feedback on topics they want more or less of. This interactive feed tuning parallels developments on other social media platforms that have recently launched AI-driven personalization tools giving users greater say in algorithmic content delivery.

Google also plans to roll out similar customization for Google News audio briefings on Android devices, allowing users to tailor daily news summaries by topic. Overall, these updates reflect Google’s strategy to balance the rise of AI content generation with tools that support publishers and empower users, aiming to maintain quality and traffic in an evolving digital news ecosystem.