Google Releases Core Update Targeting Discover Feed via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google has released what it calls the February 2026 Discover core update, a broad change to the systems that surface content in the Discover feed.

Google says the update is initially limited to English-language users in the United States, and it plans to expand it to more countries and languages in the future.

Google announced the update on the Search Central Blog and posted it to the Search Status Dashboardas an incident affecting ranking.

What’s New

The update applies to Google Discover, the interest-based feed that surfaces content such as articles and videos.

Google says its testing showed that people found the Discover experience “more useful and worthwhile” with the update. The blog post lists three goals for the change.

The update targets locally relevant content by showing users more content from websites based in their country. It also aims to reduce sensational content and clickbait in the feed. And it prioritizes “in-depth, original, and timely content from websites with expertise in a given area,” based on Google’s systems’ understanding of a site’s content.

Google’s existing guidance about core updates and Discover still applies. The update is limited to English-language users in the United States for now, with plans to expand to other countries and languages. Google said it plans to expand to all countries and languages in the months ahead, but it didn’t share a specific schedule.

Why This Matters

Because Google is calling this a Discover core update, you could see Discover traffic move without a matching change in Search. Google framed the change around more local relevance, less sensational content and clickbait, and more in-depth, original, timely content from websites with expertise in a given area.

Monitor Discover traffic in Search Console separately from organic search over the next two weeks. If you see traffic changes, check whether they’re isolated to Discover or also affecting Search. That distinction matters now more than it used to.

Looking Ahead

The Search Status Dashboard will be the first place Google posts completion updates, as it does with all core updates. Google also notes that its standard core update guidance applies, which emphasizes content quality improvements over time rather than specific technical fixes.

SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...