Google has initiated a pilot program to test AI-generated article overviews on the Google News pages of participating publishers, as announced on Wednesday. The publications involved in this trial include Der Spiegel, El País, Folha, Infobae, Kompas, The Guardian, The Times of India, The Washington Examiner, and The Washington Post, along with others.

This new commercial partnership aims to "explore how AI can drive more engaged audiences," according to a company blog post. As part of the pilot, Google will collaborate with publishers to trial new features within Google News. The introduction of AI-powered overviews is intended to provide users with additional context before they decide to click through to read a full article.

Although these AI summaries might result in fewer clicks on individual news articles, publishers enrolled in the commercial pilot will receive direct payments from Google. This financial compensation is designed to offset any potential decline in website traffic. Importantly, these AI overviews will be exclusive to the Google News pages of the participating publishers and will not appear elsewhere on Google News or in general Search results.

This initiative follows earlier efforts by Google to integrate AI into news delivery. In July, the company introduced AI summaries within Discover, the primary news feed inside the Google search app. This update replaced a single headline from a major outlet with logos from multiple publishers and an AI-generated summary that cites those sources.

The new pilot program also includes experiments with audio briefings for users who prefer listening to news over reading it. Google has stated that these features will include clear attribution and links to the original articles. Furthermore, the company is partnering with organizations like Estadão, Antara, Yonhap, and The Associated Press to incorporate real-time information and improve results within the Gemini app.

"As the way people consume information evolves, we’ll continue to improve our products for people around the world and engage with feedback from stakeholders across the ecosystem," Google noted in its blog post. "We’re doing this work in collaboration with websites and creators of all sizes, from major news publishers to new and emerging voices."

In the same announcement, Google revealed it is launching its "Preferred Sources" feature globally, following its initial release in the U.S. and India in August. This tool allows users to select their favorite news sites and blogs to feature in the Top Stories section of Google search results. The feature will become available to English-language users worldwide in the coming days, with a rollout for all supported languages planned for early next year.

Additionally, Google will soon highlight links from users' news subscriptions in a dedicated carousel within the Gemini app, with AI Overviews and AI Mode to follow in the coming weeks. While these features simplify access to news from preferred outlets, they also carry the risk of creating ideological bubbles that limit exposure to diverse perspectives.

Google also announced it is increasing the number of inline links within AI Mode. The company is introducing "contextual introductions" for embedded links, which are brief explanations detailing why a particular link might be useful to explore.