Overview
- Google announced on May 27–28 that Preferred Sources will now appear inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, rolling the labels into AI responses so user-selected sites are easier to spot.
- The company said users have picked more than 345,000 unique Preferred Sources and that links labeled Preferred receive roughly twice the click-through rate, though Google has not published the measurement details.
- For some developing-topic searches Google will show a prominent article carousel beneath AI summaries that highlights Preferred Sources, and it said a separate carousel for firsthand perspectives from forums and social sites will arrive soon.
- Google is expanding its "Highly Cited" badge to more web links and will note when an article explicitly cites a Highly Cited source so readers can find original reporting and follow citation chains.
- Publishers are watching how the changes affect referral traffic and visibility because Google is reportedly exploring using Preferred Sources as a future ranking signal, but the company has not provided a firm timeline for that shift.