Google Search Console has started emailing site owners the exact number of users who selected their domain as a "preferred source," marking the first time Google has shared this metric with publishers. The emails, which went out in early October 2026, are dated "as of 2026-10-05" and push publishers toward installing Google's JavaScript follow button.

The email states plainly: "People are choosing domain as a preferred source." It then lists the property name and a figure labeled "Preferred source selections." Search industry veterans were quick to flag the rollout.

What does the email actually say?

Google's message explains the feature's mechanics: "Preferred sources lets Google Search users choose the publications they want to see most. When readers select your site, your content can appear more often across features like Top Stories, AI Overviews, and AI Mode."

That placement detail matters. Preferred source status now influences visibility inside Google's AI-driven surfaces, not just traditional results pages. Publishers with large subscriber bases could see compounding exposure in AI Overviews and AI Mode, where Google controls which sources to cite.

The email closes with two recommended actions:

• Install the JavaScript button: publishers add two lines of HTML to embed an interactive button that lets users follow the site directly from the page.
• Upgrade existing buttons: sites still using the static image button should switch to the JavaScript version so users can add the site in fewer steps.

Is there a report inside Search Console?

Not yet. Publisher Nati Elimelech, who spotted the emails on October 6, 2026, wrote: "No report in GSC that I can find. The number is just included in the email itself."

That gap between email data and dashboard reporting is exactly what Google appears to be probing. The email invites publishers to take a two-minute survey about how preferred sources reporting should evolve.

What is Google asking publishers?

The survey questions signal Google's roadmap decisions. They include:

• Whether publishers were aware of Preferred Sources before this report
• How clear the email was in explaining the user count
• How helpful the subscriber number is
• How publishers would prefer to receive future reports, and at what email frequency
• Which metrics would be most valuable if reporting moved into Search Console, ranked 1 through 4
• What other Preferred Sources metrics publishers want

Consultant Glenn Gabe, who received what he described as "a flurry of emails from Google," put the community's ask directly: "This would be cool to see IN GSC."

Why the number matters

Kyle Sutton noted the practical value of the disclosure on October 6, 2026: "Google has started sending site owners emails on Preferred Source performance as a nudge to add their CTA. This includes the actual numbers of users who chose your site as a Preferred Source. This is a first and quite helpful to correlate known CTR to selections."

That correlation point is the analytical hook. Publishers can now line up preferred-source selection counts against click-through rate data and traffic patterns to estimate how much subscriber preference drives visibility in Top Stories and AI features. Before this email, that measurement was impossible.

The JavaScript button push also carries a clear incentive structure: reducing friction in the follow flow should raise selection counts, which in turn should raise AI Overviews and AI Mode exposure.

What to watch next

Google has not confirmed any timeline for a full Search Console report, so treat dashboard integration as speculation for now — what is confirmed is the email rollout and the survey itself. Publishers who want reporting shaped around their workflows should complete the survey while it is open. Watch for whether Google adds preferred source metrics as a permanent Search Console report, whether selection counts begin correlating with measurable AI Overviews traffic shifts, and whether the JavaScript button becomes a ranking-adjacent visibility factor across AI surfaces in future updates.