Feed and product-facts checklist
The product facts AI shopping answers depend on, from identifiers to price, stock and crawler access, each tied to the page that defines it.
Published
Checklist v0.131 checksSources read 2026-10-15
These checks come from what Google, OpenAI, Microsoft and Perplexity document about product data and crawlers. “Required” means the source says a product can’t show, or can be disapproved, without it. To audit one store, use the worksheet.
Google says its AI features need no special files, and Google Search ignores llms.txt (Google Search Central).
Product identity
Give every product and variant a stable, unique ID.
Required
Why it matters Google asks for one ID per product, ideally the SKU, kept the same over time.
How to check No ID should repeat, run past 50 characters, or change between feed exports.
Sources Product data specification; ID [id]
Send the manufacturer's GTIN for every product that has one.
Required Products with a manufacturer GTIN
Why it matters Google warns that missing or wrong GTINs can limit visibility.
How to check Each GTIN needs 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits and a valid check digit. Never invent one.
Google's own pages differ on whether a GTIN is required or recommended.
Sources GTIN [gtin]; Free listings for products; About unique product identifiers
Set the brand, and the MPN when there's no GTIN.
Required
Why it matters Google requires a brand for branded goods and an MPN when there is no GTIN.
How to check Look for brand values like "N/A". Use your store name only for goods you make.
Sources Brand [brand]; MPN [mpn]; About unique product identifiers
Put the same identifiers in the page's Product markup.
Required
Why it matters On pages with several offers, Google matches page and feed by SKU or GTIN.
How to check In the page source, sku should equal the feed ID, or gtin the feed GTIN.
Sources Set up structured data for Merchant Center; How To Add Merchant Listing Structured Data; Schema.org: sku (Schema.org)
Make the feed title name the same product as the page.
Required
Why it matters Google checks feed data against the product page.
How to check Compare the titles, variant included. Keep prices and shipping out of titles.
Sources Title [title] and structured title [structured_title]; About landing page requirements
Use main images of at least 500 by 500 pixels.
Required
Why it matters Google enforces this minimum from January 31, 2027.
How to check Look for small-image warnings in Merchant Center.
Sources Image link [image_link]; Merchant Center product data specification update 2026
Put full product details on the page.
Recommended
Why it matters Perplexity says it is more likely to recommend merchants with deeper product details.
How to check Price, stock, specifications and reviews should appear on the page as text.
Sources What is Instant Buy? (Perplexity); Shopping with Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft)
Price and availability
Show one price in the feed, page, markup and checkout.
Required
Why it matters Google compares them. Repeated mismatches can lead to account suspension.
How to check Note all four prices for a few products. They should match exactly.
Sources How to fix: Mismatched product price; Price [price]; About landing page requirements
Put price and stock in the first HTML, unchanged after load.
Required
Why it matters Google's crawlers treat the page as first loaded as final.
How to check Load the page with JavaScript off, or use URL Inspection in Search Console.
Sources About landing page requirements; How to fix: Mismatched product price; Set up structured data for Merchant Center
Send sale prices as sale_price, with the regular price in price.
Required Products on sale
Why it matters The page should show both prices, and checkout only the sale price.
How to check Check that each sale has an effective date range.
Sources Sale price [sale_price]; How To Add Merchant Listing Structured Data
Show the same availability in the feed, page, markup and checkout.
Required
Why it matters Google checks stock against the page, and contradictions cause errors.
How to check Check each variant without entering a zip code. Preorders need an availability date.
Sources Availability [availability]; Availability date [availability_date]; How to fix: Inaccurate availability status due to inconsistency between feed and landing page
Keeping data current
Leave Merchant Center's automatic item updates on.
Recommended
Why it matters Merchant Center can correct price and stock from your page when they disagree.
How to check Confirm it's on, the default, and that markup carries price and availability.
Sources Allow Merchant Center to update product information automatically; Set up structured data for Merchant Center
Clear open price and availability mismatches in Merchant Center.
Recommended
Why it matters Each one means Google saw your feed disagree with your site.
How to check Look for "Mismatched value (page crawl) [price]" and availability issues.
Sources I need help fixing my price issue; How to fix: Inaccurate availability status due to inconsistency between feed and landing page
Keep a dated record of price and stock changes.
Tenuvio reasoning
Why it matters It shows whether an assistant's old price is stale data or simply wrong.
How to check Keep dated feed exports, or log each change with its date.
Sources No outside document; this follows from the test protocol.
Variants
Give each variant its own ID and link, with a shared item_group_id.
Required Products with variants
Why it matters Each link should open on that variant, with its own price, image and stock.
How to check Open three variant links from the feed and check each one.
Sources Item group ID [item_group_id]; Variant option [variant_option]; About landing page requirements
Mark up variants as a ProductGroup.
Recommended Products with variants
Why it matters Google reads variants from ProductGroup markup tied to the feed's item_group_id.
How to check Look for productGroupID, variesBy and hasVariant, and a unique sku per variant.
Sources Product Variant Structured Data (ProductGroup, Product); Schema.org: ProductGroup (Schema.org); Schema.org: productGroupID (Schema.org)
Shipping and returns
Set shipping costs and delivery times for each country you ship to.
Required
Why it matters Google requires shipping settings in many countries, the US among them.
How to check Check Merchant Center's shipping settings or the feed's shipping attribute.
Publish a return policy and add it to Merchant Center.
Recommended
Why it matters Google verifies policies and prefers a verified one to what it finds on your site.
How to check The policy should be public, cover change-of-mind returns, and read the same everywhere.
Sources Set up your return policies for Shopping ads and free listings; Free listings for products; More ways to share your shipping and returns policies with Google | Google Search Central Blog
Mark up return and shipping policies at store level.
Recommended
Why it matters Google reads them from Organization markup. Merchant Center settings override it.
How to check Look for hasMerchantReturnPolicy in your policy page's markup.
Sources Merchant Return Policy Structured Data (MerchantReturnPolicy); Merchant Shipping Policy Structured Data (ShippingService); Organization Schema Markup
Reviews
Mark up only reviews that shoppers can see on the page.
Required Pages with review markup
Why it matters Google bars markup for hidden, fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews.
How to check Compare the rating count in the markup with the reviews shown.
Sources Review Snippet (Review, AggregateRating) Structured Data; General Structured Data Guidelines
Send a product reviews feed to Merchant Center.
Optional Stores with at least 50 reviews
Why it matters Product ratings in Google need one, matched to your products by GTIN or brand and MPN.
How to check Eligibility starts at 50 reviews, with a full feed at least monthly.
Sources Product Ratings basics; Product Ratings eligibility; XML Schema Reference | Google Product Review Feeds
Programs and settings
Turn on Google's free listings and check products are approved.
Recommended
Why it matters Free listings can appear in Search, the Shopping tab and Gemini.
How to check In Merchant Center, check that no product excludes them.
Sources Free listings for products; Shop with AI Mode, use AI to buy and try clothes on yourself virtually
Leave your site included in Google's generative AI features.
Required
Why it matters Since August 31, 2026, a Search Console control can exclude a site from AI Overviews and AI Mode.
How to check Check that "Search generative AI control" is set to include, the default.
Sources Search generative AI control; Google's Guide to Optimizing for Generative AI Features on Google Search
Read Merchant Center's AI performance report.
Recommended English queries in the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand
Why it matters It shows visibility in AI Mode and AI Overviews, and attributes your feed lacks.
How to check In Merchant Center, open Analytics, then Products, then AI performance.
Sources About AI performance insights; Insights for AI-powered shopping experiences coming soon
Consider Google's conversational attributes.
Optional
Why it matters Google says these optional fields help AI systems understand a product.
How to check Add them through a supplemental data source. They don't affect approval.
Sources How to use conversational attributes; Question and answer [question_and_answer]
If OpenAI accepts you as a merchant, send its product feed daily.
Optional US merchants accepted by OpenAI
Why it matters OpenAI says the feed gives ChatGPT accurate product data. Onboarding is by application.
How to check The feed has nine required fields, from item_id to price. It targets the US.
OpenAI's application page couldn't be read from Tenuvio's research environment on 2026-10-15.
Sources Get Started: Agentic Commerce (OpenAI); Products: Agentic Commerce (file upload specification) (OpenAI); Key concepts: Agentic Commerce (OpenAI)
Keep a Microsoft Merchant Center feed.
Recommended Microsoft Copilot
Why it matters Microsoft says Copilot's product results draw on the web and these feeds.
How to check Feed price and description must match the page. Copilot Checkout is US only.
Sources Agentic Commerce (Microsoft); Product attributes (Microsoft Merchant Center) (Microsoft)
Access for crawlers
Allow OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt and at your firewall.
Recommended
Why it matters OpenAI says sites that block it don't appear in ChatGPT search answers.
How to check Check robots.txt and ask your host whether OpenAI's IP ranges get through.
Sources Overview of OpenAI Crawlers (OpenAI)
Allow PerplexityBot in robots.txt and at your firewall.
Recommended
Why it matters Perplexity recommends it for appearing in its results, and says the bot doesn't train models.
How to check Check robots.txt and any firewall rule that blocks bots.
Sources Perplexity Crawlers (Perplexity)
Let Bingbot crawl product pages, without NOARCHIVE or NOCACHE tags.
Recommended
Why it matters Copilot uses Bing's index. NOARCHIVE keeps a page out of Copilot answers.
How to check Check robots.txt and the robots meta tag. Microsoft also asks for IndexNow notices.
Sources Bing Webmaster Guidelines (Microsoft); Which crawlers does Bing use? (Microsoft)
Show crawlers the same product, price and stock as shoppers.
Required
Why it matters Google requires the same page for bots. A different bot price causes mismatches.
How to check Compare the page with what URL Inspection shows Googlebot.
Sources About landing page requirements; How to fix: Mismatched product price