Google Gives Users Control Over Sources in AI Overviews

Google has added the Preferred Sources feature to AI Overviews and AI Mode. Now users can independently choose which information sources AI search will prioritize when preparing answers. This gives people control over the quality of information they receive.

How Preferred Sources Work

Preferred Sources is integrated directly into the Google AI Overviews and AI Mode interface. When setting up a search, users can add their favorite news publications, blogs, analytical websites, and information resources to their profile. When AI generates an overview based on a user's query, the system takes these preferences into account and brings materials from only the added sources to the forefront. This works like a personally customized filter for the information stream.

Instead of relying solely on algorithmic determination of source authority, Google now asks: who do you trust? The user becomes the main arbiter of their information diet quality.

The feature supports adding various types of sources:

• Verified and authoritative publications (CNN, BBC, Reuters, AP News, The Guardian)
• Specialized sources in your areas of interest (fintech, science, sports, arts)
• Personal blogs and independent journalist projects
• Regional news resources and local publications

Control Instead of Algorithm

Until now, Google's algorithms decided which sources to consider authoritative and worthy of user attention. Preferred Sources turns this logic on its head — the user becomes the curator of their own information stream. This is especially critical in the era of misinformation and fake news, when trust in sources is not a luxury, but a necessity.

The feature answers a long-standing question: why not let people choose for themselves which publications they consider reliable and authoritative? Google has been listening to criticism that AI Overviews sometimes cites questionable or inaccurate sources, and Preferred Sources is an attempt to give users a tool to manage information quality.

For Content Creators and Journalists

Preferred Sources opens a new door for media companies and independent journalists. If users add your publication to their list of preferred sources, Google will prioritize your content in AI Overviews. This is a direct mechanism to gain access to an audience that values you and considers you a reliable source of information.

"Users want to trust the sources they read.

Now they decide for themselves which publications to show," Google explains in the official feature announcement.

For content creators, this means that quality and honesty become a competitive advantage not only at the algorithm level, but also at the level of direct user choice. Lesser-known but quality publications get a chance to be noticed by their target audience.

What This Means

Preferred Sources is a small but meaningful step toward user control over AI results. For content creators and journalists, it's an opportunity to gain direct access to an audience that values them and actively chooses them as a source of information. For ordinary users, it's a way to filter out the noise and focus on sources they truly trust. Google is gradually allowing people to influence their information landscape, and that's a good sign for the future of AI assistants.