Google gives publishers a new way to fight AI-driven traffic losses

Google is rolling out an interactive “Preferred Sources” button that publishers can place on their webpages. When a visitor clicks the button, the site is recorded as a favorite and receives higher placement in Google Search, Discover, and Google News. The button extends a feature that first appeared in May within Google’s AI‑driven experiences—AI Mode, AI Overviews—and the existing Top Stories carousel. According to Google, more than 345 000 distinct sources have already been chosen through this mechanism.

In addition to the on‑page button, users can add favorites via Google’s source‑preferences portal by searching for a publisher’s name or URL. Google’s internal studies indicate that a source marked as preferred is twice as likely to be clicked when it appears in search results. A complementary update will let users shape their Discover feed by typing natural‑language requests in the three‑dot menu, telling the system which topics to show more or less of.

• Preferred Sources button embeddable on publisher sites
• Increases visibility in Search, Discover, and News
• Over 345 k unique sources selected since May launch
• Internal data: 2× click‑through for preferred sources
• Upcoming natural‑language Discover feed tuning via three‑dot menu

Why this matters

The source material shows that Google is giving publishers a direct, user‑driven signal to counteract traffic declines linked to AI‑generated answers. By allowing readers to flag trusted sites, the company creates a feedback loop that could boost referral traffic for those publishers that successfully encourage their audiences to use the button. However, the actual effect depends on adoption rates; the cited 2× click‑through figure comes from Google’s own studies and has not been independently verified, so the real‑world impact on overall web traffic remains uncertain.