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Product feed requirements in 2026: Google vs Meta vs Microsoft

Compare Google, Meta and Microsoft feed requirements, including Canada warranty data and Google’s structured text and AI-image rules, before upload.

The short version

A feed that passes one ad platform can fail another. Google Merchant Center, Meta catalogs and Microsoft Merchant Center share a common core, but their required fields, availability values and identifier limits differ. Google documents structured title and description fields as valid alternatives to the plain fields, requires AI-created product images to retain embedded provenance metadata, and now accepts conditional warranty data for products targeting Canada. Microsoft requires a title but treats the product description as optional.

Use this checklist to build one clean source feed, then map platform-specific output without weakening the source data.

Start with the shared core

Keep a stable ID, customer-facing product name and description, product and image URLs, a price with an ISO currency code, and an availability value in the source catalog. Most destinations require this core, but validate each field against the target platform. Google accepts either plain or structured forms for product name and description, while Microsoft documents description as optional.

Treat these as source-of-truth rules:

  1. Keep IDs stable across refreshes. Changing an ID resets history and can break catalog-to-event matching.
  2. Use absolute HTTPS product and image URLs.
  3. Send a numeric price followed by the three-letter currency, such as 29.99 EUR.
  4. Match feed price and availability to the page shoppers actually see.
  5. Preserve brand, GTIN and MPN even where a platform treats them as optional. Better identifiers improve matching and reduce platform-specific rewrites.

Platform, country, category and checkout programs can add fields beyond this core. Validate the exact destination before upload.

Google Merchant Center requirements

Google's core limits are:

Field Rule
id Required; maximum 50 characters
title or structured_title One is required. Plain title is limited to 150 characters. Structured title requires content up to 150 characters and can identify generative-AI text with digital_source_type.
description or structured_description One is required. Plain description is limited to 5,000 characters. Structured description requires content up to 5,000 characters and can identify generative-AI text with digital_source_type.
link and image_link Required HTTP(S) URLs; use images at least 500×500 pixels. Smaller images receive warnings now; enforcement begins January 31, 2027.
price Required number plus ISO currency
availability in stock, out of stock, preorder or backorder

Google says to use the structured form when the corresponding text was created with generative AI; otherwise use the plain form. Do not fail an offer merely because it uses a documented structured alternative instead of the plain field.

Condition is required for used and refurbished products. For new products, brand is generally required except for categories such as media. Submit a valid GTIN when one exists; otherwise use MPN plus brand, or explicitly state that an identifier does not exist. Preorders need an availability date.

Google also applies category- and country-specific apparel fields. Do not treat a seven-field core pass as proof that every item is eligible.

From September 30, 2026, pickup-enabled in_store products in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and EEA countries must include pickup_cost and minimum_order_value when those costs or minimums apply on the website. This is a scoped local-pickup rule, not a blanket requirement for every online offer. Check the affected market and pickup configuration before adding the fields, and keep the submitted value aligned with the website.

Google also supports six optional conversational-shopping attributes: question_and_answer, document_link, related_product, item_group_title, variant_option and popularity_rank. Google recommends supplemental enrichment and says these fields do not affect existing product approvals. Treat them as optional product-detail work after the approval-critical fields and feed-to-page parity are healthy.

Add warranty data only where the Canadian rule applies

Google added a warranty attribute in October 2026 for products targeting Canada. It carries a duration and unit; when you submit it, both values are required. Google accepts month or year, but products covered by Québec Bill 29 must use year.

The rule is conditional, not a universal feed requirement. For Canada-targeted offers, identify the new electronics and household appliances covered by Québec's legal warranty of good working order, get the correct duration from the compliance owner, and submit a value such as 3:year. Keep the same duration visible near the advertised price on the landing page for covered Québec products.

Submission is available now. Google says display in Shopping ads and free listings begins later in 2026, so verify the processed product and public listing rather than assuming a valid upload means the warranty is already shown.

Preserve provenance in AI-created images

Google says product images created with generative AI must retain embedded metadata identifying their digital source. Its specification names IPTC DigitalSourceType values including TrainedAlgorithmicMedia, CompositeSynthetic and AlgorithmicMedia, and tells merchants not to strip those tags from image_link or additional_image_link assets.

This requirement lives in the delivered image binary, not in a feed field that a URL-only validator can reliably prove. Check the original asset, every resized or reformatted derivative, the CDN rendition and the exact public URL submitted to Merchant Center. Image optimizers commonly remove metadata while compressing files.

Google also says certain AI-generated or edited advertising assets need disclosures or labels under rules applying in the European Union, India and New York. Treat the creative label as a separate control from file provenance. For the full verification sequence, see AI-generated product images in Merchant Center: preserve provenance and label regulated assets.

Meta catalog requirements

Meta's baseline is stricter in two places: condition and brand are required, while availability accepts fewer values.

Field Rule
id Required; maximum 100 characters; match the ID sent in catalog events
title Required; maximum 200 characters
description Required; maximum 9,999 characters
condition Required: new, refurbished or used
brand Required; maximum 100 characters
availability Only in stock or out of stock
price Required period-decimal number plus ISO currency, such as 9.99 USD
link and image_link Required HTTP(S) URLs; JPEG or PNG images at least 500×500 pixels and no larger than 8 MB

Do not send Google-only preorder or backorder values into Meta unchanged. Meta also rejects comma-decimal prices. If an image changes, publish it at a new URL so Meta does not keep the cached version.

GTIN and MPN are recommended rather than universally required. India and onsite-checkout catalogs add contextual requirements.

Microsoft Merchant Center requirements

Microsoft accepts a Google-like schema, but it is not identical:

Field Rule
id Required; maximum 50 characters
title Required; maximum 150 characters
description Optional; maximum 10,000 characters
link and image_link Required HTTP(S) URLs
price Required number plus ISO currency
availability in stock, out of stock or preorder; no backorder
condition Required: new, refurbished or used

Do not reject an otherwise valid Microsoft offer solely because description is missing. Keep descriptions populated where possible because they remain useful product data, but distinguish that recommendation from Microsoft's documented insert requirements.

Keep brand and product identifiers populated even when an audit reports them as warnings. Microsoft product offers also need their market context, including channel, content language and target country, when sent through the Content API.

Do not copy Google's backorder value into Microsoft. Offers written through the Content API expire after 30 days by default, so refresh them well inside that window.

Map one source value to each platform

Do not corrupt the source catalog to fit the narrowest destination. Map it at export time.

Source state Google Meta Microsoft
In stock in stock in stock in stock
Out of stock out of stock out of stock out of stock
Preorder preorder Map to a supported state only when operationally true preorder
Backorder backorder Map to a supported state only when operationally true No direct value; apply a documented business rule

A mapping must reflect what the shopper can actually buy. Never label a preorder or backorder item as in stock merely to pass validation.

Run the pre-upload check

Before every scheduled export:

  1. Check required fields, alternative-field pairs and character limits for each destination.
  2. Validate URLs and image size.
  3. For known AI-created Google images, inspect the delivered binaries for the expected provenance metadata.
  4. For Canada-targeted Google offers, check whether the product is covered by the Québec warranty rule and reconcile feed duration with the landing-page disclosure.
  5. Validate price syntax and currency codes.
  6. Map availability values per platform.
  7. Check GTIN, MPN and brand consistency.
  8. Compare feed price and availability with the landing page and checkout.
  9. Test a small upload, then inspect item-level diagnostics rather than relying on the file-level status.

Use the free product feed scanner to catch field, format and parity risks before the next platform upload. Verify AI-image provenance separately because a URL-level feed check cannot prove what metadata survived inside the delivered file.

Sources