Google is testing a “Source preferences” button in the citations sidebar of AI Mode, its conversational search experience. Clicking it opens the Preferred Sources list, where users can add or remove sources without leaving the answer. Damien Andell spotted the button and posted a video on X. Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz reported it and has not yet seen the button personally.
AI Mode has honored Preferred Sources since May, per Schwartz. What changes here is location. Managing the list at the exact moment a citation is on screen shortens the path from reading a source to promoting or demoting it.
That matters for publishers. A citation becomes a spot where readers can curate their own sources, not just a link that earns a click. Google has not announced the test, and a single video leaves its reach unknown.
Publishers cited in AI Mode should confirm their brand is easy to find and recognize as a Preferred Source, since the sidebar may become a place where that choice gets made.
Search Engine Roundtable, Barry Schwartz, October 19, 2026.
