Google announced on Wednesday an update to the Discover page in its flagship Search app. This update allows users to follow specific publishers and creators to surface more content from their favorite sources.
This change follows a feature Google introduced last month that let users select their preferred news sites and blogs for the Top Stories section in search results.
In the coming weeks, Google says people will also begin to see a wider variety of content on Discover. This will include articles, YouTube Shorts, and posts from platforms like X and Instagram, all from creators and publishers across the web. Google has stated it plans to add even more types of sources to this mix in the future.
With these moves, Google aims to give users more control over the content they see while also expanding the Discover page to include a more diverse range of sources. However, it remains unclear what specific criteria Google uses for creator content to appear on the Discover page. A response to a question about this was not provided ahead of publication.
To use the new feature, when you see content from a publisher or creator, you can tap their name to view all their content on a single page and choose to follow them. Google has stated it will then show more content from the sources you follow.
These announcements arrive at a time when many publishers are experiencing a significant drop in traffic due to Google’s AI search features. In response, the search giant launched a product called Offerwall, which is designed to let publishers earn revenue from sources other than advertisements.