📢 Google Discover Core Update – February 2026 (Official Summary)
Update released: Thursday, February 5, 2026
Google has officially released the February 2026 Discover Core Update, a broad update to the systems that surface articles in Google Discover. According to Google, testing shows that users find the Discover experience more useful and worthwhile after this update.
What’s changed in the February 2026 Discover Update?
1. More locally relevant content
Discover will show users more content from websites based in their own country. This change is designed to improve relevance by prioritizing regionally and locally meaningful content.
2. Reduced sensational and clickbait content
Google is actively reducing the visibility of sensational, exaggerated, or misleading content in Discover feeds. Headlines that over-promise without delivering value are less likely to perform.
3. Increased visibility for in-depth, original content
The update favors timely, original, and well-researched content that demonstrates clear expertise in a given subject area. Thin or surface-level articles may struggle to gain visibility.
4. Topic-level expertise (not site-wide authority)
Google evaluates expertise on a topic-by-topic basis. A website can perform well in Discover for specific sections where it shows strong expertise, even if it covers multiple unrelated topics.
For example, a local news website with a dedicated gardening section may be considered an expert in gardening, while a movie review site publishing a single gardening article likely would not.
5. Personalization remains a core signal
Discover will continue to personalize content based on users’ interests, creator preferences, and past engagement behavior.
Impact on Discover traffic
As with all core updates, Discover traffic may fluctuate. Some sites may experience increases, others may see decreases, and many may see no significant change at all.
Rollout details
The February 2026 Discover Core Update is currently rolling out to English-language users in the United States. Google has confirmed plans to expand the update to additional countries and languages in the coming months.
Key takeaway for publishers & SEOs
To perform well in Google Discover going forward, focus on:
- Local and country-specific relevance
- Topic-level expertise and depth
- Original, timely, and trustworthy content
- Avoiding sensational or clickbait-style headlines
This update reinforces Google’s long-term direction: rewarding content that genuinely helps users, rather than content designed purely to attract clicks.