Google is launching a new feature in Search called Preferred Sources, now rolling out in the US and India. This update allows users to choose their favorite news outlets so that articles from these sites feature more prominently in the Top Stories section of search results.
Articles from selected sources will be marked with a star icon next to the outlet name. Depending on relevance, they may also appear in a separate “From your sources” carousel for quick access.
This works on both mobile and desktop. Here’s the simple process:
Search for a current news topic.
Click the star icon beside “Top Stories.”
Select your favored publications.
Refresh your search to see more results from these outlets.
You can choose unlimited sources, whether it’s a major international news outlet, a local paper, or a niche blog. Early testers typically picked four or more sources.
More control over what you read—tailoring news feeds to trusted outlets.
Users no longer rely solely on algorithm-curated content; they shape their own news experience.
For publishers, this is an opportunity: urging readers to save them as Preferred Sources can boost visibility and traffic.
Google News is a free news aggregator service developed by Google that organizes and highlights news stories from thousands of publishers and magazines around the world. Launched in beta in 2002, it serves as a powerful platform for discovering current events, world news, and diverse content from various sources.
Google News's core functionality is driven by automated algorithms. These algorithms continuously scan, index, and organize millions of news stories in dozens of languages. They analyze hundreds of factors, including:
Relevance: How closely an article matches a user's interests.
Prominence and Authority: The credibility and influence of the news source.
Freshness: How recently the content was published, prioritizing up-to-date information for breaking news.
Location: Presenting regional and local news that is particularly relevant to the user's geographical location.
The platform uses AI to present a personalized feed in the "For You" section, tailoring content based on a user's past activity and preferences. It also offers a "Headlines" section for an unfiltered view of top stories.
Full Coverage: This feature provides a comprehensive look at a single news event by organizing all related articles, videos, and social commentary into a single timeline.
Newsstand: This tab allows users to find and follow specific publishers and topics they trust. It also simplifies the process of subscribing to a publication by integrating with the user's Google Account.
Customization: Users have a high degree of control over their news experience. They can select specific topics to follow, hide stories from certain sources, and specify "Preferred Sources" to appear more frequently in their feeds. This new "Preferred Sources" feature was rolled out in the U.S. and India in August 2025, giving users more control over their "Top Stories" feed.
Integration: News from Google News is also prominently featured in other Google services, such as the "Top Stories" box in Google Search results and through Google Assistant.
Historically, Google News relied on publishers manually submitting RSS feeds. However, in a major update in March 2025, Google fully transitioned to automatically-generated publication pages. This change streamlines the process, as content from publishers who adhere to Google's content policies is now automatically eligible for inclusion.
The company also recently discontinued nonessential customization features for publication pages, opting to use site favicons for logos and site names for publication titles. This focus on automation and simplification reflects Google's continued effort to make news more accessible and easier to navigate for users.