I recently delved into the intricate world of Google Discover, uncovering how its 20 pipelines and 42 million cards shape the landscape for publishers. This exploration reveals how trends, news, videos, and advertisements flow through the digital pipelines, achieving broadcast-level reach for some content.
Metehan Yesilyurt’s SDK analysis brought the pipeline names to my attention, and I meticulously collected data over three months to decipher each pipeline’s function—including volume, reach, timing, and dominance. Let’s dive into what the examination of 42 million cards reveals about Discover’s inner framework.

Our journey took three months (December 2025 – February 2026), where I analyzed real Discover feeds from hundreds of devices. The result was the analysis of 42 million feed cards intricately linked to their selecting pipelines.

This analysis built on existing knowledge from the SDK, as you might have encountered in Metehan’s SDK Analysis. My objective was to illuminate what each pipeline actively accomplishes—how much content it picks, how many devices view it, the pace at which it operates, and which publishers it highlights. That’s the story my data tells.

Four metrics were computed for every pipeline:

- Reach — the percentage of devices showing each URL daily
- Speed — the median age of articles when they appear
- Exclusivity — the percentage of URLs exclusive to the pipeline
- Volume — the portion of the total feed

Visually explore all 20 pipelines: Open the interactive explorer →

Diving deeper, many believe Discover operates on just one recommendation algorithm. However, our results tell a different tale—a sophisticated system with six layers, each with its unique logic, pace, and audience.

The six layers include:

- Core editorial — various content types leading with editorial consistency.
- News urgency — swift distribution of must-see news content.
- Trends — pipelines dedicated to detecting and maintaining trends.
- Local/geo — focusing on geotargeted stories and content.
- Social/video — elevating YouTube video content into prominence.
- Commercial — enhancing advertisements’ reach through platforms like YouTube.
In my exploration, I found peculiarities unique to the English Discover feed, including a YouTube content journey expanding through three successive pipelines. This system brings significant amplification to the reach of content that passes through it.
English Discover has also incorporated AI Overviews, an AI-generated summary, although this has been limited to English feeds only. Furthermore, a surprising revelation was the systemic under-representation of Premier League content across numerous pipelines, unlike other sports.
In conclusion, the Discover ecosystem continually evolves. Observing these changes provides valuable insights into the system’s architecture and potential influential power for publishers.
Data Source: 42 million Discover cards from December 2025 to February 2026. Analysis by 1492.vision with recognition to Metehan Yesilyurt for his work on Google SDK analysis.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.






