Welcome to Pulse of the Week. Each update this week impacts what can appear in Google’s AI responses and why.
Google has integrated preferred sources into AI Overviews and AI Mode, new data examines how personal data affects which brands appear in AI Mode, and Google’s CEO spoke about the quality of AI Overviews.
Here you will find out what is important for you and your work.
Preferred sources in AI overviews and AI mode
Google has expanded preferred sources in regular search results beyond Top Stories. It is now rolled out in AI Overviews and AI Mode Answers.
Important facts: Readers select the websites they want to see more of, and those choices now have a visible label when the site appears in an AI overview or AI mode response. Websites can ask their own readers to add them. More than 345,000 sources have been selected so far, up from around 90,000 during the global rollout in December.
Why this is important
Favorite Sources status now shapes your link labels in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Top Stories. As more search activity shifts to AI answers, this label will become a more prominent visibility signal tied to reader loyalty.
What SEO experts say
Marie Haynes, founder of Marie Haynes Consulting, noted:
“Google has just made it possible for any website to invite its readers to add it as a preferred source, making that website more likely to be seen in AI overviews and AI mode.”
Glenn Gabe, president of G-Squared Interactive, called it a powerful addition to publishers who have built audience loyalty, noting the impact it creates:
“As I mentioned before, make sure your audience knows how to add you as a preferred source. Google even provides instructions on how to add a button that directs users to add you as a preferred source.”
Geertrui Laleman, Senior AI Search Optimization Specialist at SEMrush, linked the update to brand awareness:
“Google personalization is becoming part of AI visibility. With preferred sources in AI Overviews and AI Mode, users can now choose the websites they trust most. According to Google, people are twice as likely to click through to a preferred source. What I find interesting is what this means for brand visibility. AI visibility is no longer just about being mentioned or cited. It’s also about becoming a source that people recognize they trust and want to see active in their results.”
Read our full coverage: Google Preferred Sources reach 345,000 and expand into AI search
Linked Gmail content with higher brand visibility in AI mode
iPullRank has published a report on how Google’s Personal Intelligence feature changes which brands appear in AI mode. The results suggest that email is the strongest signal.
Important facts: In the test, brands linked to a user’s own data appeared more frequently in AI mode once Personal Intelligence was turned on, with Gmail being the strongest signal.
Why this is important
Brands that users interact with via email can influence AI mode recommendations once Personal Intelligence is active. The numbers are approximate; The test 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, saw a benefit in Gmail’s performance for email teams. “It’s not all doom and gloom for email marketers,” he wrote.
Read our full coverage: Gmail content boosts brand visibility in AI mode
Google CEO calls AI review ‘more opinionated than it should be’
Pichai discussed the state of AI overviews in an interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast. He said an AI overview response was “more opinionated than it should be.”
Important facts: The interview was recorded after Google I/O. Pichai presented the result as potential for improvement in answering some questions through AI overviews.
Why this is important
Subscriptions that count toward Preferred Source status mean your off-platform audience can feed a signal that now appears in AI responses. Google is still optimizing AI summaries, according to Pichai, so the summaries above your links may change.
Read our full coverage: Google CEO on AI overviews: “More opinionated than it should be”
Topic of the week: The AI answer is the surface that counts
Each story this week is about Google’s AI answers. Preferred Sources allows readers to select the websites they want to see in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Personal Intelligence shows personal data, especially emails, and moves brands up the ante in AI mode. Pichai admitted that the same answers can be more opinionated than they should be. Earning a place in the AI response will be one task, and trusting what it says will be another.
Top stories of the week:
Additional resources:
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