What Are Preferred Sources, Perspectives and Highly Cited Labels in Google AI Overviews?

How do the three features compare?

Google first introduced a Highly Cited label for news in 2022; the May 2026 update extended the badge to more article links.

How do Preferred Sources work?

Searchers choose sites in their Search source preferences, or from the options next to Top Stories. After that, those sites are more likely to appear in Top Stories and are labelled as preferred in AI Overviews and AI Mode when Google's answers link to them. Preferences are personal: only the person who chose your site sees the label, and searchers can change or remove their choices later in the same settings. So the label rewards a loyal readership rather than a single good article.

Google's documentation for publishers sets out the eligibility rules:

• Available globally for Top Stories in all languages where Search is available, and in AI Overviews and AI Mode wherever those features exist.
• Any site that publishes fresh content is eligible, according to Google's announcement; it is not limited to news publishers.
• Your site must be included in Search's generative AI features in Search Console. A site that has opted out of AI Overviews and AI Mode cannot appear there as a preferred source.
• Only domains and subdomains qualify. www.example.com and blog.example.com can be chosen; www.example.com/blog cannot.

How can a site help readers choose it?

Google provides three ways, none of which is required:

1. A standard button. Two lines of HTML, a script tag and a div, add a localised “Add to preferred sources” button with a light or dark theme.
2. A custom button using Google's JavaScript library, for sites that want their own design.
3. A deep link to the preference screen, for CMSs that cannot run the script.

First, search for your site in the source preferences tool to confirm it appears. Then place the button where loyal readers will see it, such as article footers, newsletters and your about page. Explaining the benefit briefly helps: “See more of our reporting in Google Search and AI Overviews.”

What are the perspectives carousels?

For questions about a developing topic, Google may show a short overview followed by a prominent carousel of recent articles, which also highlights the searcher's preferred sources. For questions where people want other people's views, a similar carousel shows firsthand perspectives from online discussions, forums and social media. This is one reason community answers can appear near AI Overviews even when a brand's official page exists, as covered in why AI Overviews cite forum answers instead of official pages.

For brands, the practical point is that genuine participation in communities, such as expert answers and customer discussions, can surface in these carousels alongside your own site.

What does Highly Cited mean for your content?

The badge goes to articles that other articles reference, and Google also notes when an article explicitly references a Highly Cited source. It rewards original work: first reporting, new data, primary research and clear explanations that others cite. It cannot be requested. For businesses, publishing original data, such as surveys, benchmarks or pricing studies, and making it easy to cite with clear figures and dates is the realistic route. How often AI Overviews link to Google's own properties versus the open web is covered in how often AI Overviews cite Google's own properties.

Do these labels change which sites AI Overviews cite?

Google presents them as labels and extra link placements, not a change to how AI Overviews choose sources. Preferred Sources makes a chosen site more likely to appear in Top Stories and highlights it when it is linked; the carousels add placements for articles and perspectives. The core citation rules are unchanged, as covered in whether AI Overviews mainly cite top-ranking sites. The labels matter most for clicks: a labelled link from a source the reader trusts is more likely to be opened.

What should you do?

1. Check your generative AI setting in Search Console is set to include your site, as covered in whether you could have opted out of AI Overviews.
2. Find your site in the source preferences tool.
3. Add the preferred sources button to pages your regular readers visit.
4. Publish fresh, original content regularly, since the feature is aimed at sites that publish new material.
5. Create citable originals: data, research and first reports.
6. Take part in discussions in your field with genuine, identified contributions.

We have not measured the effect of these labels on our own traffic. This page is based on Google's May 2026 announcement and its Search Central documentation for preferred sources.

What might this look like in practice?

Consider an illustrative home energy blog, Plovard, that publishes weekly guides and an annual heat pump cost survey. The editor confirmed the site appeared in Google's source preferences tool, added the preferred sources button to article footers and the newsletter, and moved the survey data onto one page with dated, clearly labelled figures. Several trade publications cited the survey, and the page began carrying a Highly Cited badge in search results. Readers who had chosen Plovard as a preferred source now saw it labelled in AI Overviews about heat pump costs, and the editor saw click-throughs from those answers rise.

What do people ask about these labels?

Do only news sites qualify as preferred sources?

No. Google says any site that publishes fresh content is eligible, provided it is a domain or subdomain.

Can I appear as a preferred source if I opted out of AI Overviews?

Not in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Google requires your site to be included in Search's generative AI features.

How do I get a Highly Cited badge?

You cannot request it. It is applied to articles that other stories reference.

Does adding the preferred sources button improve rankings?

Google says it is not required. It helps loyal readers choose you, which affects what they see.