SEO
Google Discover: What It Is and How to Get Your Content on It
What Google puts in writing about getting into the feed, a step-by-step setup for your site, why Discover traffic swings, and how to switch the feed off if that's what you came for.
Google Discover is the feed of cards the Google app shows on your phone before you type anything, and your site can land there for free, with no application. Being indexed and following Google's policies makes you eligible; getting picked comes down to three things: your image, your headline and your topic.
In the US, "google discover" gets about 6,600 searches a month according to DataForSEO. Most come from people tweaking their phone: "google discover dark mode" alone gets 40,500. Publisher searches are tiny but growing fast: "how to optimize for google discover" jumped 1,200% in a year. That's the gap this guide fills, with Google's own rules and dates.
You'll get the real requirements, a setup checklist, why the traffic swings and how to switch the feed off. If you're building your SEO plan, Discover is the channel most people forget and the cheapest one to prepare for.
On this page
What is Google Discover (and what it isn't)
Google Discover is part of Google Search that recommends content based on each person's interests, without them searching for anything.
Google Discover is the feed in the Google app and on mobile google.com that shows news, articles and videos picked for each user. Google infers interests from Web & App Activity and matches them with pages it has already indexed. Every card carries an image, a headline, the site name and a date.
What it isn't: it isn't Google News, it isn't an ad product and it isn't a place where you submit articles. It isn't a keyword ranking either. Nobody types a query, so classic SEO helps you get indexed, but it doesn't decide who shows up in the Google Discover feed.
How is Discover different from Google Search?
Search answers a question you type; Discover guesses what you'll want before you ask. That changes the game for publishers. In Search you compete for a query. In Discover you compete for an interest, and your image and headline do the selling in a scrolling feed, a lot like a social post.
How to get on Google Discover: what Google actually asks for
To get on Google Discover, your page must be indexed and follow the content policies; your images and headline do the rest.
Google's Get on Discover documentation, last updated on March 9, 2026, is clear that no special markup is required. It's just as clear that being eligible doesn't guarantee you'll appear. Here's what it does ask for.
| Requirement | What Google asks | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| Indexing | The page is in Google's index | URL Inspection in Search Console |
| Large image | At least 1,200 px wide, over 300,000 pixels, 16:9 | Dimensions of your og:image file |
| Large previews | max-image-preview:large enabled (or AMP) | Search your page source for it |
| Representative image | Set via og:image or schema.org; no logos or text-heavy images | Text the URL to yourself and look |
| Headline | Captures what's inside, no clickbait or sensationalism | Does it promise more than it delivers? |
| Content | Timely, well told or with a unique insight | Does it add something ten other sites don't? |
| Page experience | A page that works well, especially on mobile | Open it on cellular, not Wi-Fi |
Google also filters out things it won't recommend, such as job applications, petitions, forms, code repositories and satire without context.
What image size does Google Discover need?
At least 1,200 px wide, over 300,000 pixels in total and 16:9. In practice, 1,200 × 675 just makes it, and Google's own example is 1,280 × 720. If your featured images are square or small, run them through our free image resizer first.
How to optimize for Google Discover, step by step
Optimizing for Discover takes an afternoon: confirm indexing, allow large previews, swap the featured image and rewrite baity headlines.
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Confirm Google has indexed your pages
Run your key articles through URL Inspection in Search Console. If any are missing, submit or fix your XML sitemap. No index, no Discover.
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Allow large image previews
Open the page source (Ctrl+U) and search for
max-image-preview:large. Many WordPress SEO plugins already add it. If it's missing, add it to your robots meta tag. -
Swap the featured image for a 16:9, 1,200 px one
Use an original photo that represents the article, with no logo or text on top. Set it as your
og:imageand give it solid alt text, which also helps in Google Images. -
Rewrite headlines that overpromise
"What nobody tells you about sourdough" is bait. "Sourdough starter: 3 mistakes that kill your rise and how to fix them" says what's inside and still earns the tap.
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Publish where you actually know your stuff
Google says it identifies expertise topic by topic. Ten strong guides on one subject beat fifty random posts, and backlinks from sites in your niche reinforce that signal.
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Check Search Console every week
Open the Discover performance report and note which topics, headlines and images get the clicks. Do more of what works.
Act as a digital news editor. Here's my article headline: [paste headline] and a 3-line summary: [paste summary]. Give me 5 alternative headlines under 70 characters that say exactly what's inside, without exaggerating or withholding key information, and explain in one line why each one isn't clickbait.
Google Discover core update: why your traffic swings
Discover traffic swings because interests, content mix and Google's systems change; in February 2026 Google even shipped a Discover-only core update.
Google states plainly that Discover traffic is less predictable than search traffic and should be treated as supplemental. It can change for reasons that have nothing to do with your content quality or how often you publish.
Why did my Discover traffic drop?
You may have done nothing wrong. On February 5, 2026, Google launched its first core update just for Discover, starting with English-language users in the US, with other countries and languages promised for the months ahead. It aims to show more locally relevant content from sites in the user's country, less sensationalism and clickbait, and more in-depth, original, timely content from sites with real expertise. If your traffic fell then, review your headlines and whether your site covers its topics in depth.
Google Discover and AI: what's changing for publishers
Nothing official has launched yet. What exists is a report: on October 12, 2026, Search Engine Journal described a Google job posting for a Principal UX Lead for Discover. The ad asks for a proactive, hyper-personalized "concierge" experience that helps people make progress on their goals, with AI-enabled formats and more human voices in the feed. It also mentions working with YouTube, Shopping, Chrome and Android.
A job ad is a hint, not a roadmap. SEJ itself says its read on publishers is inference, and it warns that a concierge-style feed could mean less traffic for publishers. It also sees a possible upside for creators if human voices get a push.
So what do you do today?
- Open the Discover report in Search Console and work out its share of your clicks. As a rule of thumb, once it passes a third, start diversifying.
- Invest in what survives any format: original images, named authors and real experience on the page.
- Build a way to reach readers without Google, like a newsletter.
Google Discover settings: how to turn it off or tune your feed
To turn off Google Discover, open the Google app, go to Settings, then General, and switch Discover off.
These are the routes in Google's official Android help:
- In the Google app: tap your profile picture, go to Settings, then General, and turn off Discover.
- On google.com on your phone: tap your profile picture, go to More settings, then Other settings, and turn off "Show Discover on the homepage".
- On your home screen: if the feed appears when you swipe right, disable it in your phone's home screen settings, which vary by manufacturer.
That's how to turn off Google Discover completely. If only some cards bug you, you don't need to disable Google Discover at all: the three-dot menu on each card lets you unfollow a topic or stop seeing a site.
Google Discover on desktop: is there a computer version?
Sometimes, depending on your country and account, and Google hasn't published an official list. Discover started on mobile. Google's Android help page covers the Google app, google.com in a phone browser and a swipe right from the home screen. It says nothing about computers.
Press coverage fills the gap. Search Engine Journal reported that Google confirmed a test of Discover under the search bar on the google.com desktop homepage in October 2023, in India only. According to Search Engine Land, a rollout to Australia and New Zealand started in 2025. We found no official Google announcement for the US as of October 2026, so treat desktop as partial.
To check, open google.com on your computer while signed in and look for cards under the search bar. For your site, nothing changes: same indexing, same 1,200 px image, same policies. Measurement doesn't change either. Google only says the Discover report in Search Console covers traffic from all surfaces, Chrome included, so desktop clicks should land in the same report.
Frequently asked questions about Google Discover
How do I access Google Discover?
Open the Google app on your phone: the feed sits right under the search bar. You can also see it on google.com in your phone's browser and, on many Android phones, by swiping right from the home screen. If it's missing, check that Discover is switched on in the Google app settings and that Web & App Activity is on, since that's where Discover learns what you like. Google notes it isn't available in every country or language.
Where has my Google Discover gone?
Usually it was switched off, or an update reset it. Check the Google app first: profile picture, Settings, General, Discover. If the feed vanished from your Android home screen, your launcher or phone maker may have changed the setting; long-press an empty spot on the home screen and look for the Google or Discover option. A recent app update can also leave the feed empty for a while, so update the app and give it a day.
Is there a Google Discover app?
No, not as a separate download. Discover lives inside the Google app on Android and iPhone, and on google.com when you browse on your phone. Apps that promise to be "Google Discover" in app stores are not from Google, so skip them. On many Android phones you also get the same feed by swiping right on the home screen, which is still the Google app under the hood.
Why is Google Discover not working?
It usually comes down to four things. Discover is switched off in the Google app settings. Web & App Activity is off, so Google has nothing to base your feed on. The app is outdated or its cache is clogged. Or Discover isn't offered in your country or language, which Google admits in its help pages. Check them in that order: switch, activity, app update, then clear the cache on Android.
How does Google Discover work?
Discover picks each card from your interests, which Google infers from your Web & App Activity, and matches them with pages it has already indexed. As your interests change, the feed changes too, and Google shifts the mix of content types it shows, such as sports, health, entertainment or lifestyle. There's no query behind it: your history does the asking, which is why the same site can show up for one person and never for another.
Where is the Discover report in Search Console?
Go to Performance and then Discover in Google Search Console. It shows impressions, clicks and click-through rate for content that appeared in Discover over the last 16 months, including traffic from Chrome. The catch: the report only appears once your site reaches a minimum number of Discover impressions, and Google doesn't publish that number. If you don't see it yet, your site simply hasn't had enough Discover visibility.