Google update lifts user-preferred publishers in AI Mode and AI Overviews

Google has started giving more prominence to the publications users pick as preferred sources inside its AI-generated search features. According to a setup guide published on dev.to by TechReview, an update rolled out on October 15 pushes a user's chosen outlets higher within answers produced by AI Mode and AI Overviews, giving readers direct influence over which publishers the AI features lean on.

What the update changes

The guide describes two concrete changes. First, inline links embedded in AI-generated answers now position preferred sources further up the citation list, so a user's selected outlets are more likely to appear near the top of the references an answer draws from. Second, news carousels within AI Mode now give greater prominence to content from the publications a user has picked.

The post also cites Google figures showing that use of preferred sources has grown sevenfold, which the author takes as a sign that curating search sources is moving from a niche option toward mainstream behaviour.

How to set preferred sources

The walkthrough lays out a process the author says takes roughly two minutes, available from google.com on both desktop and mobile:

Start with a search on a subject that has active news coverage, such as a current tech topic. In the Top stories block that appears, open the customization menu through the icon next to that section. Look up the outlets you want to prioritize, then add each one using the plus or star control beside its name. Refreshing the results applies the change: Top stories tilts toward the chosen publications, and Google's AI features weight them more heavily as well.

Because the weighting applies only to outlets added manually, the feature leaves untouched results untouched — users who skip the setup step see AI answers assembled exactly as before.

What it means for publishers

For publishers, the change adds a new dimension to visibility across Google's AI surfaces. Placement inside an AI Overview or an AI Mode answer already shapes how much attention a story receives, and being on a reader's preferred list now appears to improve that placement directly. Outlets with loyal readerships stand to benefit most, since the mechanism rewards publications people actively choose rather than those that simply rank well.

The details here come from a single walkthrough; the dev.to post summarises a longer guide with screenshots published on TechReview, and the specifics reflect that account.

Why it matters

AI-generated answers increasingly sit between readers and the traditional list of blue links, and the choice of which sources those answers cite has been almost entirely algorithmic. This update hands a slice of that decision to users: a couple of minutes of setup can change which publishers inform the summaries and answers Google serves. For readers, that means answers grounded in outlets they already trust instead of a generic blend of whatever the ranking system surfaces. For publishers, it effectively turns reader loyalty into a ranking signal inside AI features. The reported sevenfold growth in usage suggests the setting is quietly becoming standard practice, and as more people curate their sources, publications left off those lists may find AI answers a considerably harder place to be seen.