Google introduces new tool to help publishers combat ai-driven traffic decline

Google has introduced a new feature aimed at helping publishers who have suffered from a decline in website traffic due to AI-driven search changes. The tool allows readers to mark a publisher's website as a 'favorite source,' which will then be highlighted more frequently in Google Search, Discover, and Google News. This interactive 'Preferred Sources' button is now available for publishers to embed on their own websites. The initiative follows the rollout of Preferred Sources in May, initially integrated into Google's AI experiences such as AI Mode and AI Overviews. The feature enables users to select over 345,000 unique sources since its launch. Publishers can add their sites as preferred sources by visiting Google's source preferences page and searching by name or website. Google claims that becoming a preferred source can increase click-through rates by up to twice. In addition to the new button, Google is introducing a feature that allows users to customize their Discover feed by specifying topics they want to see more or less of using natural language commands. Android users will also be able to personalize their audio daily briefings in the Google News app. Google is not alone in this approach, as several social media platforms have recently launched user-controlled algorithms for content customization. The move is part of Google's effort to mitigate the impact of AI-powered search features on traffic-dependent businesses.