Google Merchant Center has clarified that if you use AI-generated images within your Merchant Center feed you must indicate that the image was created using generative AI.
Google posted, “If you’re using AI-generated images in Merchant Center, Google requires that you preserve any metadata tags which indicate that the image was created using generative AI in the original image file.”
How. Google explained that you should not remove embedded metadata tags such as trainedAlgorithmicMedia from such images. “All AI-generated images must contain the IPTC DigitalSourceType trainedAlgorithmicMedia tag,” Google added. Google points to the IPTC photo metadata documentation.
Where it applies. Google wrote that these rules apply to the following image attributes in Merchant Center Classic and Merchant Center Next:
- Image link
[image_link] - Additional image link
[additional_image_link] - Lifestyle image link
[lifestyle_image_link]
Why we care. I suspect over time Google will require these attributes for other Google Search properties, not just Merchant Center or Google Images. But for now, Google has only updated its Merchant Center policies to clarify that AI generated images need to have a disclaimer in its meta image data.
