Google Expands AI Partnerships

Google has announced a major expansion of its Preferred Sources feature, opening it up to English-language users across the world. Alongside this, the company has also revealed a new pilot programme that will test AI-driven tools in partnership with several well-known news publishers.

The move signals Google’s intention to give users more influence over the news outlets they see in Search, while also experimenting with new ways to support publishers in an increasingly AI-centred environment. The update also brings changes to how links appear in AI Mode and introduces a fresh tool designed to highlight articles from users’ paid subscriptions.

Preferred Sources was first introduced as a way for people to personalise their Top Stories results. With its global rollout now underway, English-speaking users everywhere will be able to choose the news outlets they trust most, shaping what appears higher up in their search results.

Google noted that support for all other languages will follow early next year, meaning this level of customisation will eventually be available worldwide. This staged rollout suggests Google is treating Preferred Sources as a long-term feature rather than a temporary experiment.

The company also shared some early figures from the feature’s initial testing phase. Nearly 90,000 different sources have already been selected by users, ranging from smaller regional blogs to large international publications. This wide uptake shows how varied users’ reading habits really are.

Interestingly, Google reported that users who set up their Preferred Sources click through to those chosen sites twice as often as others. This indicates that giving people more control does, in fact, lead to stronger engagement with the outlets they value most.

Another key update is a new subscription-highlighting tool. This feature will prioritise articles from publications that users already pay for, marking them clearly in search results so they stand out among other links. For readers with multiple subscriptions, this could make it easier to keep track of the content they’re entitled to access.

Google plans to launch this subscription feature in the Gemini app within the next few weeks. After that, the feature will make its way to AI Overviews and AI Mode, although Google didn’t provide a firm timeline. Even so, the move suggests subscription content will become more visible across different Google products over time.

Changes are also coming to AI Mode itself. Google says it will now show more inline links inside AI-generated answers, and these links will come with short explanations. These small introductions will help users understand why a particular source has been included, making the results feel more transparent and helpful.

The Web Guide tool, which uses AI to group links into relevant topic categories, has also been improved. According to Google, it now loads twice as fast and is showing up in more searches for people who have opted into the experimental features.

A major part of Google’s announcement is its new pilot programme involving well-known publishers. The list includes Der Spiegel, El País, Folha de S. Paulo, Infobae, Kompas, The Guardian, The Times of India, The Washington Examiner and The Washington Post. These partnerships aim to test new AI features inside Google News.

As part of the pilot, Google News will begin showing AI-powered article overviews on the pages of participating publishers. It will also introduce audio briefings, offering a listening option for users who prefer audio over reading. Importantly, Google emphasised that these tools will always credit the publisher and link back to the original article.

Google has also formed separate partnerships with Estadão, Antara, Yonhap and The Associated Press. These organisations will provide real-time updates and reliable information for the Gemini app, helping improve the accuracy and freshness of Google’s AI features.

In recent years, Google says it has worked with more than 3,000 publishers, platforms and content providers across over 50 countries. This new initiative builds on that long-standing approach, showing that the company is trying to balance AI development with industry collaboration.

For anyone keeping an eye on how Google handles publisher relationships in the age of AI, this announcement offers valuable insight. It suggests Google is actively looking for ways to support the publishing sector while still driving forward its search and AI products.

Preferred Sources is available now for English-language users globally, marking a significant step in Google’s efforts to personalise search results. Full support for additional languages is expected in early 2026.

The subscription-highlighting feature is due to arrive first in the Gemini app soon, with AI Overviews and AI Mode following later. Meanwhile, the pilot programme with major publishers has already begun in Google News, though Google hasn’t offered exact rollout dates for the next wave of updates.