Google is making its search personalized with a new feature. In the future, you will be able to specify preferred sources in Google search and specifically prioritize content from selected websites. We’ll show you how you can use the new feature.
Since its launch in 1998, Google Search has become the most used search engine in the world and is the undisputed market leader in this segment. In September 2025 alone, Google was able to achieve a market share of around 94 percent in the mobile search engine market. In the desktop area, the share was 82.2 percent.
For many people, Google search is now the central access to the Internet and a crucial part of everyday digital life. Your success is based primarily on fast, relevant results that are collected from billions of websites in a fraction of a second.
With a new feature, Google is now taking the next step towards personalized search. In the future, users will be able to specify preferred sources for the first time, whose content will be given greater prominence in the search results.
According to Google, the feature is available worldwide for all search queries that trigger the “headlines” function. We’ll show you how to use the new feature and add preferred sources to Google.
Add preferred sources in Google search – here’s how
Since the introduction of AI Overview, the use of Google Search has changed noticeably. Because users are increasingly receiving the answers they want directly on the results page, without having to go to the actual sources of the information.
For site operators, this has an enormous impact on their click numbers. Media companies and advice portals in particular have lost massive amounts of traffic due to the changes in Google search.
The new “preferred sources” function is now intended to counteract this and ensure more traffic again. With the new feature, users can specify the news sources that they would prefer to see in the search results.
If they then search for a specific topic that triggers a news query on Google, those pages are more likely to appear in the Headlines section. This means that Google search results will be displayed personalized in the future.
How to choose your preferred sources on Google
The new feature can be easily used via Google search. If you searched for a news topic, the Headlines section will appear in the results.
Next to this there is now a small star symbol. If you click on this, a pop-up window will open where you can select preferred sources. You can use a search mask to search for the medium you want to prioritize.
Google offers a list of more than 200,000 international media here. BASIC thinking also already uses this function and can be selected as a preferred source on Google.
You can manage your selected sources at any time using this pop-up window in Google Search. With one click you can add new sources or remove already selected sources by checking the box.
Preferred Sources: Why add BASIC thinking?
BASIC thinking has been around for over 23 years. We report with our team at the interface between technology, sustainability and the digital economy – without a paywall, without a large publisher behind us and free from programmatic ads and annoying Blinke banners. In short: We believe that our tech journalism should be free and accessible to all.
If you want to support this, becoming a preferred source on Google is a great option. It doesn’t cost you a cent and takes less than five seconds. We thank you very much for your support.
Add BASIC thinking now