Google Preferred Sources Get More Visibility In AI Search Results

Google – (Staff Reporter/Web Desk) – Google has announced a new step to make news articles and website links easier to find in its AI search results. The update gives google preferred sources a more visible place, so users can spot the websites they already trust. The company shared the news on Thursday.

The move comes at a time when publishers are worried. Many say AI-written summaries keep readers on Google and take them away from news websites.

Google will show contextual links more often. These links will also appear higher up inside AI-generated answers, where users are more likely to notice them.

The company will also grow its link carousel across the world. The carousel is a row of cards placed just below AI Overviews. Each card shows a headline and a picture for a related article.

How Preferred Sources Will Work

Users can pick websites they like as their preferred sources. Now the search system will give those sites more weight. If you choose a news site as a favourite, its stories are more likely to show up for you.

The system can also pull content from social media posts and online forums when they match the topic.

Google also plans to improve the links at the end of AI summaries. It says these will be more engaging and more prominent for people who want to dig deeper.

Google began adding more AI tools to search over two years ago. In May 2024, it launched AI Overviews. These give a short answer to a search question instead of only showing links, as Google did in the past.

In March 2025, the company added AI Mode. It opens in a separate window and gives fuller answers with more links than AI Overviews.

Big Numbers Behind AI Overviews

During the second quarter 2025 results, Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said AI Overviews had more than two billion monthly users. The tool was available in more than 200 countries.

Several studies show that AI summaries reduce the number of people who click on links. When users get the answer on the results page, they often do not visit the source.

A report by the consultancy Chartbeat found that news publishers lost 40 per cent of their Google traffic between July 2025 and July 2026. That is a big drop for sites that depend on search visitors.

Legal Pressure In France

The issue has reached regulators too. In August, Apig, a group that represents daily newspapers in France, told the Competition Authority that AI summaries broke agreements made with news publishers in 2022.

For news sites, google preferred sources could become a useful way to win back readers. People who choose a site as a favourite may see its stories more often.

Publishers have a simple goal. They want readers to visit their pages, not just read a short summary of their work. Clear and strong links inside AI answers are a step in that direction.

The change also shows that Google is feeling the pressure. AI features are popular, but news sites say they need clicks to pay for their reporting. More visible links may help balance both sides.

When users pick their own favourite sites, they take more control over what they see. That is the idea behind google preferred sources. It may also make it easier to find original reporting and go straight to the source.

Still, it is too early to say how much traffic the changes will bring back. Whether the update is enough will depend on real results. Publishers, readers and regulators will all be watching closely in the coming weeks.