Google Launches Embeddable Button to Mark Favourite Publishers

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Google has launched a new embeddable button that allows online publishers to place directly on their websites, giving readers the ability to mark those sites as preferred sources. Once designated as a favourite, these publishers will appear more frequently across Google Search, Discover, and Google News, offering a potential lifeline to news organizations struggling with traffic declines caused by artificial intelligence-powered search features.

How the Preferred Sources Button Works for Publishers and Readers

The embeddable button represents an expansion of functionality that Google first introduced in May. At that earlier launch, the company added Preferred Sources support to its AI experiences, including AI Mode and AI Overviews, working alongside the existing Top Stories option. The new button allows publishers to integrate this preference selection directly into their own sites, rather than requiring readers to navigate to Google’s separate source preferences page.

When readers click the button on a publisher’s website, they designate that outlet as a preferred source in their Google account settings. This preference then influences what content surfaces when they use Google Search, browse the Discover feed, or read Google News. According to Google’s research, people are twice as likely to click through to a preferred source when one is available in their results. By May, users had already selected more than 345,000 unique sources through the source preferences page, where anyone can search for a publisher by name or URL.

Addressing AI-Driven Traffic Losses for News Publishers

Google has explicitly positioned this launch as a response to the traffic losses that publishers have experienced due to AI-powered search features. When AI Mode or AI Overviews provide direct answers to user queries, readers may not need to click through to the original publisher websites, cutting into the page views and advertising revenue that news organizations depend on. The Preferred Sources button offers publishers a way to maintain visibility and reader relationships even as search behavior shifts toward AI-generated summaries.

Alongside the embeddable button, Google announced additional customization features coming soon. Readers will be able to customize their Discover feed using natural language by tapping any three-dot menu and typing what topics they want more or less of. Android users will also gain the ability to customize audio daily briefings inside the Google News app, giving them more control over the news content they consume.

FAQ

When did Google first introduce Preferred Sources?

Google first introduced the Preferred Sources feature in May, when it added support to its AI experiences including AI Mode and AI Overviews. The embeddable button for publishers was made available on Thursday, extending this functionality.

How many sources had users selected by the May launch?

By the time of the May launch, users across the web had already selected more than 345,000 unique sources through Google’s source preferences page.

How much more likely are users to click on preferred sources?

According to Google’s earlier studies, people are twice as likely to click through to a preferred source when one is available in their search results or news feeds.

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