The moves come amid mounting criticism that online platforms are siphoning off the majority of revenues as more readers turn to digital platforms for news.
"I truly believe that Google and news publishers actually share a common cause," said Google vice president Philipp Schindler.
"Our users truly value high quality journalism."
Google announced a series of measures, the most significant of which would be to replace the decade-old policy of requiring news organizations to provide one article discovered in a news search without subscribing -- a standard known as "first click free."
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"We realize that one size does not fit all," said Richard Gingras, Google's vice president for news.
This will allow news organizations to decide whether to show articles at no cost or to implement a "paywall" for some or all content.
Gingras said the new policy, effective today, will be in place worldwide. He said it was not clear how many publishers would start implementing an immediate paywall as a result.
"The reaction to our efforts has been positive," he told a conference call announcing the new policy.
Google said it is recommending a "metering" system allowing 10 free articles per month as the best way to encourage subscriptions.
News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson, whose company operates the Wall Street Journal and newspapers in Britain and Australia, welcomed Google's announcement.
"If the change is properly introduced, the impact will be profoundly positive for journalists everywhere and for the cause of informed societies," said a statement from Thomson, a fierce critic of the prior Google policy.
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