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Product feeds for AI shopping: what ChatGPT and Google actually read

Picture of Rishabh Gupta

ChatGPT and Google read the same core facts from a product feed: a stable ID, title, description, product URL, image, price, availability and brand, plus GTINs and variant groups. They name those fields differently, and Google checks your feed against your live product page and disapproves items that don't match. Build one clean product record, map it to each spec, and keep it identical to the page.

Older feed guides miss two changes: OpenAI stepped back from in-chat checkout and renamed its fields, and Google added conversational attributes for AI Mode.

Where each assistant gets your product data

ChatGPT

OpenAI's direct feeds, built on its Agentic Commerce Protocol, are "currently available to approved partners," per its getting started guide, and you apply on the ChatGPT merchants page. That page says Shopify and Etsy catalogs are already integrated and shopping is live in the US. OpenAI's help center says merchants are ranked on "availability, price, quality, and whether they are the maker or primary seller of that item."

In March 2026 OpenAI said merchants would use their own checkout while it focuses on discovery. Its merchants page says it's "moving away from a standalone Instant Checkout experience," though the help center still mentions Instant Checkout for some eligible products. Plan for the click to land on your site.

Google AI Mode and AI Overviews

Google's Shopping Graph refreshes more than 2 billion listings every hour, per Sundar Pichai's NRF 2026 remarks. Your Merchant Center feed is the part of it you control. Google's guidance on AI features says there are "no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode" and tells you to keep Merchant Center current and make structured data match the visible page.

Checkout in AI Mode and Gemini runs on the Universal Commerce Protocol, and merchants start by joining a waitlist. Each product you want in checkout needs native_commerce with checkout_eligibility set to true, and return policies must be set in Merchant Center, per Google's UCP setup guide.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft says its Merchant Center feeds "help inform organic Copilot results," and Google Import can bring your Google feed across. Copilot Checkout is open to "English-language merchants who sell to US buyers," and for UCP feeds in Merchant Center, Microsoft lists three extra attributes: native checkout eligibility, product warnings where needed, and a Merchant Item ID.

Shopify stores

Shopify's agentic storefronts are "active by default for eligible stores" and reach ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Meta. Google surfaces get your data through the Google & YouTube channel or Merchant Center, the rest through Shopify Catalog. For ChatGPT, your store must sell to US customers, and legal disclosures belong in the first 6,000 characters of the description.

The fields side by side

Names come from OpenAI's products spec and Google's product data specification. OpenAI marks fields required, conditionally required or optional, with no "recommended" tier.

DataOpenAI file feedGoogle Merchant Center
Product IDitem_id (required)id (required)
Variant groupgroup_id, listing_has_variations, variant_dictitem_group_id, item_group_title, variant_option
Titletitle (required, aim for 150 characters max)title or structured_title (150 max)
Descriptiondescription (required, plain text, aim for 5,000 max)description or structured_description (5,000 max)
Product pageurl (required)link (required)
Main imageimage_url (required)image_link (required)
Priceprice as 79.99 USD (required)price (with VAT in most markets, without tax in the US and Canada)
Sale pricesale_price (must be below price)sale_price, sale_price_effective_date
Stockavailability: in_stock, out_of_stock, pre_order, backorder, unknownavailability: in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder, backorder
Brandbrand (required on every row)brand (required when a brand exists)
Identifiersgtin (8, 12, 13 or 14 digits), mpngtin (recommended), mpn (required without a GTIN)
Conditioncondition: new, refurbished, usedcondition (required if used or refurbished)
Sellerseller_name (required)Merchant Center business info
Returnsaccepts_returns, return_deadline_in_days, return_policyReturn policy settings, return_policy_label
Extra detailNo equivalent fieldsproduct_highlight, product_detail, question_and_answer

Where the specs differ

  • OpenAI renamed fields but still accepts old names such as id, item_group_id and enable_search. Its spec says "the enable_ flags win over their is_eligible_ names," so a leftover enable_search=true can override is_eligible_search=false. Send one name per value.
  • Preorder is pre_order in OpenAI's native format and preorder in Google's.
  • OpenAI's spec has no highlight, detail or Q&A fields, so fit, compatibility and what's in the box have to live in the title, description or variant_dict.
  • The file feed writes 79.99 USD. OpenAI's products API uses integer minor units, so the same price is 7999.
  • Since its April 2024 spec update, Google's AI-generated content rules put titles written with generative AI in structured_title, with digital_source_type set to trained_algorithmic_media. If you send both, Google uses title. Descriptions work the same way through structured_description.

Can you send your Google feed to ChatGPT?

Sometimes. OpenAI's spec has a Google-compatible path, but says to "use this format only after OpenAI confirms it for your registered feed." It takes tab-delimited or comma-delimited files, not XML, and every row needs a nonempty id, title, description, link, image_link, availability, price and brand. Its accepted columns don't include structured_title, product_highlight, product_detail or the conversational attributes. If your Google feed puts AI-written titles in structured_title, the OpenAI version needs a plain title column.

What changed in 2026

  • 11 January: Google announced new Merchant Center attributes for conversational commerce, starting with "a small group of retailers." Six conversational attributes now appear in the help center: question_and_answer, document_link, related_product, item_group_title, variant_option and popularity_rank, all optional.
  • 14 April: Google's 2026 spec update added handling_cutoff_time, minimum_order_value, loyalty sub-attributes for shipping, and video_link, with videos eligible to serve from 30 June.
  • 21 April: Microsoft made UCP-ready feeds generally available in the US.
  • 18 August: the Content API for Shopping reached sunset, and since 1 September requests without an extension fail intermittently. Feed tools need the Merchant API.
  • 31 January 2027: image_link and additional_image_link need at least 500 x 500 pixels. Merchant Center has warned about it since 14 April.

Identifiers, variants and images

Google says products with missing or incorrect GTINs "may have limited visibility," and "when in doubt don't provide a GTIN." Skip the restricted prefixes 02, 04 and 2 and the coupon prefixes 05, 98 and 99. OpenAI wants 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits with a valid check digit and leading zeros intact, which spreadsheets like to strip. Without a GTIN, send brand plus the manufacturer's MPN, never one you made up. Set identifier_exists to no only for custom goods, handmade items and antiques.

Give every purchasable option its own row, ID and preselecting URL, plus a shared group ID. Google requires item_group_id for variants in free listings and, for Shopping ads, in markets including the US, UK, Germany and France. If you use item_group_title, every variant gets the same one. OpenAI wants a row per selection with a distinct item_id, the same group_id and a variant_dict. On the page, use ProductGroup markup with hasVariant and variesBy.

Google's image rules ban promotional overlays, watermarks, borders and placeholders, and recommend 1500 x 1500 pixels or larger. Keep image URLs free of parameters that change every feed run, allow Googlebot and Googlebot-image in robots.txt, and keep the IPTC DigitalSourceType tag on AI-generated images. OpenAI only asks for a direct image URL, so build to Google's rules.

How do you write titles and descriptions that answer buyer questions?

Write for the question a shopper asks, not for a keyword list. Google's title and description guidance gives you the structure:

  • Front-load the important details. Shoppers usually notice only the first 70 characters or fewer.
  • Add each variant's distinguishing details, like size or color, to its title.
  • Leave out promotional text such as price, sale dates or shipping, capitals for emphasis, store links and comparisons with other products.
  • Put the key description details, such as size, material, age range, features and specs, in the first 160 to 500 characters.

Google's product_highlight and product_detail both say not to list keywords or search terms, and question_and_answer should cover only the product, with no prices, dates or keyword lists. Google's spam policies count "repeating the same words or phrases so often that it sounds unnatural" as keyword stuffing. OpenAI's best practices ask for "concise, factual copy."

An illustration: for a two-person backpacking tent, "Best Ultralight Tent Camping Tent Hiking Tent SALE" gives a model nothing to use. "Acme Trail 2 Backpacking Tent, 2-Person, 3-Season, Freestanding, Green" says who it fits, when it works and which variant the row is. Open the description with packed weight, floor size and what's in the bag. Put the questions support hears most, like whether a wide sleeping pad fits, in question_and_answer for Google and in the description for ChatGPT.

Keeping the feed, structured data and page in sync

Google crawls landing pages and compares feed price and availability with the page and its markup. Mismatched items are disapproved, and Google warns that price mismatches "may lead to an account suspension." Availability works the same way. Google's price mismatch page names the usual causes:

  • Timing. The site changes before the feed. Google suggests scheduled uploads or the Merchant API for frequent changes.
  • JavaScript. Prices "passed dynamically with JavaScript after the page is loaded" trigger an error.
  • Markup. Wrong or stale structured data, which Google uses to read prices.

The price must match the landing page and checkout. For items sold in minimum quantities, submit the price of that minimum. Member prices go in loyalty_program, not price or sale_price, and Google says loyalty benefits can show in AI Mode and Gemini in the US. Automatic item updates, on by default, patch price, availability and condition from your markup, but they "aren't a replacement for regular updates" and may not work for items that change more than once a day.

For ChatGPT, OpenAI's file upload rules recommend a full snapshot over SFTP "at least daily," and its getting started guide adds API updates through the day. An omitted product keeps its last record for up to 14 days, so set is_eligible_search to false to pull one quickly. ChatGPT reads your pages too: sites that block OAI-SearchBot "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers," per OpenAI's crawler docs.

The lasting fix is to generate the feed, the JSON-LD and the page from one product record. Merchant listing markup needs Product with an Offer carrying price and currency, and should add availability, gtin and brand. Put your return policy in Organization markup and in Merchant Center's return policy settings. For the page side, see what AI assistants need from your store, and for Magento, agentic SEO for Magento and Adobe Commerce.

Common reasons products get excluded

  • Page price or availability that doesn't match the feed.
  • GTINs that are invented, mistyped, in restricted ranges or missing leading zeros.
  • Missing required values, like brand or seller_name on an OpenAI row.
  • Images with overlays, watermarks or placeholders, images blocked by robots.txt, and from 31 January 2027, anything under 500 x 500.
  • Restricted categories. OpenAI prohibits adult content, alcohol, nicotine, weapons and prescription-only medications, among others. Google's UCP checkout excludes subscriptions, personalized goods, pre-orders, age-restricted items and services.
  • Market limits. ChatGPT shopping is live in the US, Copilot Checkout serves US buyers only, and Shopify excludes B2B-only products it can identify.
  • Conflicting values, like enable_search overriding is_eligible_search, or a sale_price not below price.

An afternoon audit you can run on your own feed

  1. Pull about 50 products: best sellers, one full variant family, some sale items and some out of stock.
  2. Fetch each landing page's raw HTML, not the rendered page, and compare price, sale price, currency and availability with the feed and the JSON-LD.
  3. Run every GTIN through a check-digit test. Flag wrong lengths, restricted or coupon prefixes, and lost leading zeros.
  4. Check brand on every row. Your store name belongs only on products you make or sell as private label.
  5. Walk one variant family end to end: unique IDs, a shared group ID and group title, and a URL that opens each variant preselected.
  6. Read the first 70 characters of 20 titles and the first 500 of their descriptions. Cut promo text and keyword runs, and check each says what it is, who it's for and the spec that decides the purchase. Label AI-written copy with structured_title and structured_description.
  7. List images under 500 x 500, and test robots.txt for Googlebot, Googlebot-image and OAI-SearchBot.
  8. In Merchant Center, clear price and availability mismatch issues, and confirm return policies, shipping costs and customer support details are set.
  9. Confirm your feed tool runs on the Merchant API.
  10. For ChatGPT, confirm your route in: Shopify, Etsy or an approved direct feed. For a direct feed, check field names, the daily snapshot and how you remove products.

If you want help

If you'd rather hand this off, our Agentic SEO audit looks at how findable and recommendable your products are in ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity. It costs $1,500 and takes 2 to 3 weeks. Book a 30-minute call to talk it through first.

Sources

Facts checked on 4 October 2026.
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