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Google adds a custom button for preferred sources in Search

Google's docs now explain how to add an interactive button that lets readers pick your site as a preferred source. Here is what the documentation says.

Published · 2 min read

Written byAdam Hafez
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Key takeaways

  • Google's documentation updates page lists the new custom button for preferred sources under 20 August 2026.
  • A reader who selects your site as a preferred source is more likely to see your content in Top Stories with a "preferred" badge.
  • In AI Mode and AI Overviews, your content can carry the same badge for readers who selected your site.
  • Eligibility in those AI features requires your site to be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console.
  • Only domain-level and subdomain-level sites qualify, so a subdirectory such as /blog cannot be a preferred source.

Google’s documentation updates page lists a “New custom button for preferred sources” on 20 August 2026. It says the preferred sources guide now covers how to add a custom, interactive button that guides your audience to set your site as a preferred source.

What is a preferred source?

A reader picks your site in Google’s source preferences tool. After that, Google says your content is more likely to appear in Top Stories, highlighted with a “preferred” badge. In AI Mode and AI Overviews, your content can also carry that badge for the readers who selected you.

It is available globally for Top Stories in all languages where Search is available. In AI Mode and AI Overviews it applies wherever those features exist. See AI search for how those features fit together.

Who is eligible?

Two conditions come straight from the guide:

  • To show in the AI features, your site must be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console.
  • Only domain-level and subdomain-level sites can appear in the source preferences tool. A subdirectory cannot.

You can check by entering your site in the tool’s search box. The button methods apply only if your site appears there.

How does the new button work?

Google describes three ways to guide readers, and says its standard JavaScript option gives the best experience:

  • Standard JavaScript (recommended). Add a script tag from Google, then a div with the google-add-preferred-source-btn attribute. It renders an automatically localized, Google-styled button. Optional data-theme (light or dark) and data-lang attributes change the theme and language.
  • Advanced JavaScript. Use your own design assets and trigger the flow from your own element through Google’s library, as an ES module or a script callback queue.
  • Deeplink. If you cannot run JavaScript, link to https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q= followed by your domain. It works as a text link, a clickable image, or in social posts and newsletters.

Both JavaScript options return readers to the page they left. Google also offers downloadable button images.

What should you do about it?

Nothing is mandatory. Google says these methods are examples of how to build your audience, and that you do not need them to appear as a preferred source. The source gives no traffic data, so any effect on clicks is unmeasured.

If you publish news, check your eligibility first, then pick the lightest method your site supports. For how AI features link out, see Google’s test of AI Overview links that open AI Mode.

The evidence

Type
announcement
Impact
medium
Affects
Preferred sources, Top Stories, AI Mode

Sources

  1. 1.Help your readers find your site through preferred sources in Google Search - Google Search CentralPrimary
  2. 2.Google Search Central documentation updates - Google Search Central, August 20, 2026Primary

Frequently asked questions

What is a preferred source in Google Search?

A site a reader has chosen in Google's source preferences tool. Google says that content is then more likely to appear in Top Stories, highlighted with a "preferred" badge.

Is the custom button required to appear as a preferred source?

No. Google says the methods on the page are examples of how to build your audience, and that doing them is not required to appear as a preferred source.

Can a subdirectory be a preferred source?

No. Only domain-level and subdomain-level sites are eligible. Google's example is that https://www.example.com/ qualifies and https://www.example.com/blog does not.

About the author

Adam Hafez
Adam Hafez

Founder, UpgradIQ FZC LLC

Adam Hafez works on technical SEO and search measurement: how pages get crawled, indexed, ranked and now quoted by answer engines. He founded UpgradIQ, which reads Google Search Console and GA4 to tie ranking movement back to the changes that caused it. He publishes what the data supports and states the limits of it.

  • Technical SEO
  • Search Console and GA4 measurement
  • Answer engine optimization
  • Structured data

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