Welcome to Pulse of the week. Each update this week has an impact on what could appear within Google’s AI solutions, and why.
Google brought Popular Sources to AI Overview and AI Mode, new data looks at how personal data is changing which types appear in AI Mode, and Google’s CEO discussed the quality of AI Overview.
Here is what is important to you and your work.
Preferred Sources for AI Overview and AI Mode
Google has expanded Popular Sources beyond Top News in traditional search results. It now appears within the AI Overview and AI mode answers.
Important facts: Readers select the sites they want to see the most, and those selections now carry a visual label when the site appears in AI Overview or AI mode feedback. Sites can notify their readers to add them. More than 345,000 sources have been selected so far, up from nearly 90,000 in December’s global release.
Why This Matters
Popular Sources Status now shapes your link labels for AI Overview, AI Mode, and Top Stories. As more search activity goes into AI results, that label becomes a visual signal associated with the reader’s trustworthiness.
What SEO Experts Say
Marie Haynes, Founder of Marie Haynes Consulting, commented that:
“Google recently made it possible for any website to invite its readers to add it as a favorite source, making it easier for that site to show up in AI Overviews and AI Mode.”
Glenn Gabe, President of G-Squared Interactive, called it a powerful addition to publishers that built that audience loyalty, and pointed to the action it creates:
“As I’ve shared before, make sure your audience can add you as a favorite source. Google even provides instructions on how to add a button that pulls users to add you as a favorite source.”
Geertrui Laleman, Senior AI Search Specialist at Semrush, linked the update to the product recognition:
“Google customization is becoming part of AI visibility. With Preferred Sources in AI Review and AI Mode, users can now choose the websites they trust the most. Google says people are twice as likely to click on a preferred source. The part I find interesting is what this means for brand visibility. AI visibility is no longer just about mentions or quotes. It’s about being an active source, and seeing active people.”
Read our full coverage: Google’s Preferred Sources Hit 345K, Expand to AI Search
Gmail Content Linked to High Brand Visibility in AI Mode
iPullRank has published a report on how Google’s Personal Intelligence is changing which brands appear in AI Mode. The findings point to email as the strongest signal.
Important facts: In the experiment, brands linked to user data appear more often in AI Mode when personal intelligence is turned on, Gmail being the strongest signal.
Why This Matters
Products users interact with via email can influence AI mode recommendations once personal intelligence is activated. Numbers are approximate; testing used a small sample and measured results, not Google’s internal systems.
What SEO Experts Say
Jacques Corby-Tuech, Head of Lifecycle Marketing at Trade Nation, has seen a change in Gmail adoption for email teams. “It’s not all doom and gloom for email marketers,” he wrote.
Read our full story: Gmail Content Shows Product Visibility Improvements in AI Mode
Google CEO Calls AI Overview ‘More Overseen’
Photosi discussed the state of AI overview in an interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast. He said one AI response was “a lot more opinionated than it should have been.”
Important facts: The interview was recorded after Google I/O. Photosi presented the result as room for improvement in how AI Overview answers specific questions.
Why This Matters
Signing up to count to a preferred source means your off-field audience can feed the signal now from AI responses. Google is still fine-tuning the AI Overview, via Photosi’s account, so the thumbnails above your links will change.
Read our full story: Google CEO On AI Overviews: ‘There Are More Ideas Than There Should Be’
Theme of the Week: AI Feedback Is a Critical Area
Each story this week returns to Google’s AI solutions. Popular Sources allow readers to select the sites they want to see in AI Overview and AI Mode. Personal Intelligence reflects personal data, especially email, moving products into AI Mode. Photosi admitted that those same answers can be more opinionated than they should be. Locating AI feedback is one task, and trusting what it says is another.
Top Stories of the Week:
Additional resources:
Featured image: PeopleImages/Shutterstock
