Google has confirmed that the February 2026 Discover core update rollout has completed. It started on 5th February and finished on 27th February. This is the first confirmed Search update of 2026 and notably, the first core update that only impacts Google Discover.
The update only applies to English-language users in the USA, however Google has confirmed this will expand globally in the coming months.
Google says the update was designed to improve the Discover experience by:
- Prioritising locally relevant content from publishers based in the users country
- Reducing sensationalist headlines and clickbait
- Elevating original and timely content from sites with clear topical expertise
Importantly, expertise is assess topic by topic, not just at domain level, which means broad publishers can still perform well, but only where Google recongises genuine authority.
