Your favorite sources first: Google will let you personalize news in the Google News section!

Google is introducing a new experimental feature called Preferred sources, which will allow users to customize the Top Stories section in search results, which currently appears in the Google News section for the Czech language. The goal is to increase the relevance of news based on which websites you like or visit regularly.

Normally, Google displays Top Stories algorithmically, regardless of your preferences; however, with this new feature, you can increase the chance that your favorite blog or local newspaper will appear among the main news. Of course, assuming it publishes current content.

For selected websites, a star icon will appear next to their name, and potentially a new list called “From your sources” will be displayed below the main news selection.

Personalization not just for Google News

In addition to the new and potentially upcoming tested feature, Google also reminds about the existing personalization of Google Search, which updates the relevant sections based on your search history. The feature can be turned off at any time by clicking on “Try without personalization” at the very bottom of the results page.

However, the tested feature is currently only available in English, either in the USA or India. It is also part of Search Labs experiments, which you can sign up for through the Google app or directly in the search engine; however, due to localization, such a decision doesn’t make sense, at least in this case.

It also remains to be seen whether the new feature will only affect the English version of Top Stories or if it will also impact the aforementioned news section Google News. However, since both functionalities work on a very similar principle, it is possible that we will see it in that form as well — if not, we will have to make do only with cases where we use the English language for searching.

Your favorite sources first: Google will let you personalize news in the Google News section! Pavlína Čížková Zprávičky Pavlína Čížková Zprávičky

Which websites would you add to your preferred sources?

Source: 9to5Google, Google Blog