Product feed checker: how to audit your catalog for AI shopping
A product feed can pass Merchant Center and still give AI assistants nothing to work with. Check it in two layers: does it meet Google's rules (required fields, limits, identifiers) and can it answer shoppers' questions (who it's for, specs, use, comparisons). The ten checks below cover both.
Two layers: valid vs useful
| Valid feed | Useful to AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Question | Will Merchant Center accept it? | Can an assistant answer shoppers from it? |
| Looks at | Required fields, formats, limits | Brand, category, description depth, specs |
| Failure looks like | Disapproved items, errors | Approved items that AI rarely mentions |
The 10 checks
- Required fields present: id, title, description, link, image_link, price and availability on every item.
- IDs stable and unique: up to 50 characters, unique per product, never changed between updates.
- Brand is the real brand: not your store name on every item (a very common platform default).
- Titles are clean: up to 150 characters, brand + product type + key attribute, no "free shipping" or 【promo】 tags.
- Categories mean something: not campaign names like "11.11 Sale" or "New arrivals", and no broken characters like
>. - Descriptions say more than the title: plain text, specific facts, not a copy of the title or one shared paragraph.
- Identifiers where they exist: GTIN if the product has one (never invent it), otherwise MPN.
- Images are real: the main product image, not a placeholder; Google will require at least 500×500 px from January 31, 2027.
- Key specs in fields: size, color, material filled in the structured attributes, not just inside text.
- Shopper questions answerable: who it's for, how to use it, what's included, warranty — test with real questions.
Checks 1–2 and 7–8 keep you approved. Checks 3–6 and 9–10 decide whether AI can describe and recommend you.
How to run the check
- Merchant Center diagnostics: catches errors and disapprovals (layer 1), not thin data.
- Spreadsheet review: open the feed, sort by brand and category, scan for repeats and promo text.
- Ask AI directly: ask ChatGPT or Gemini 3–5 shopper questions about a few products and see what's missing.
- Automated checker: AI Catalog runs both layers on your feed URL or uploaded file in about a minute, and shows the shopper questions AI can't answer — free, no sign-up.
Fixing what you find
Fix the source when you can (your store platform). When the main feed is hard to edit, add a supplemental data source in Merchant Center with the corrected fields, matched by product ID. For the writing itself, see product descriptions AI can answer from.
Questions
Is there a free product feed checker?
Yes. AI Catalog checks a feed URL or uploaded file for Google's rules and for the shopper questions AI can't answer, free and without sign-up.
My feed has no errors in Merchant Center. Is it fine?
It's valid, but not necessarily useful to AI. Store-name brands, campaign categories and thin descriptions pass validation yet leave assistants little to say.
Which feed formats can be checked?
Google-style XML/RSS, CSV and TSV feeds, Shopify stores, and spreadsheet exports.
How often should I check my feed?
After any platform or theme change, and regularly as products are added. AI Catalog re-checks automatically on paid plans.