Google is rolling out a pair of updates aimed at giving users more control over the news they see—and more AI‑powered context while browsing. The company now allows people to add their preferred news sources directly into Search, ensuring that outlets they trust appear more prominently in results and personalized news modules. At the same time, Google is integrating Gemini into the Discover Feed, bringing AI summaries and contextual insights to one of its most‑visited surfaces.
Image Courtesy : gemeni.google.com
The new “Follow News Sources” feature lets users manually select outlets they want prioritized. Once added, Google will highlight stories from those publishers in Search results, Top Stories carousels, and personalized news sections. The update is designed to give readers more agency over their media diet, especially as news discovery increasingly happens through algorithmic feeds rather than direct visits to publisher websites.
For Google, the move also responds to long‑standing criticism that Search can feel opaque in how it ranks and surfaces news. By letting users explicitly choose trusted outlets, Google is shifting part of that control back to readers—while still using its ranking systems to ensure relevance and quality.
The second update brings Gemini into the Discover Feed, where millions of users browse articles, videos, and trending topics each day. Gemini will generate short summaries, highlight key points, and offer contextual explanations for complex stories. Google says the goal is to help users understand news faster without replacing the original reporting. The AI will also suggest related topics and background information, making Discover feel more like an interactive briefing than a static feed.
Together, the updates signal Google’s broader strategy: blend personalization with AI assistance while giving users clearer control over what they see. As news consumption continues to shift toward mobile feeds and AI‑enhanced interfaces, Google is positioning Search and Discover as more customizable—and more intelligent—gateways to the daily news cycle.