Google announced a few news-related updates, including that the Google News Showcase is finally coming to US news publishers, an updated follow tab in the Google News app, and survey features in Google Reader Revenue Manager.

Google News Showcase, which launched first in Germany and Brazil back in October 2020 has been expanding to many more countries over the past few years. But the United States was not one of them, that is until now. Google said News Showcase is coming to the US with more than 150 news publications across 39 states, the majority of them representing local and regional news, Google said.

That makes it now over 22 countries globally with more than 2,300 publishers who signed up for News Showcase.

Follow feature in the Google News app has been updated, moved to the bottom and is easier to get to. The Follow feature will be available globally on Android soon and then expand to iOS later this year.

Here is what it looks like (click to enlarge):

Google Reader Revenue Manager that we covered in detail a few months ago is gaining a new survey feature. Google said this “will help publishers ask their readers questions to better understand their demographic profile and interests, so they can serve more relevant content and advertisements.”

Forum discussion at Twitter.