Google announced it will consolidate and merge the Shopping ads and free listings policies into a single Shopping policy sometime in September 2026. Keep in mind, there may be specific ads or free listing policies listed in that consolidated policy document, where some policies only apply to ads and some only to free listings but it will be in a single policy document.
Google wrote, "In September 2026, Google will update the Google Merchant Center Help Center to consolidate the Shopping ads and free listings policies into a single set of Shopping policies, for improved organization and clarity."
Google added, "Some policies will continue to only apply to Shopping ads, and we will clearly indicate when this is the case."
I will keep track of the policy document and when it goes live, I will let you know the differences. Although, Google said the reason "is intended to simplify and clarify these policies for merchants and does not introduce substantive changes to or more restrictive enforcement of the policies. Merchants should expect no additional restrictions on their product listings as a direct result of this update."
Here is the Google Shopping policy documet as it is now.
Arpan Banerjee also sent me a screenshot of the email notice he received on this change:
Emmanual also posted about this on LinkedIn and wrote, "What does this mean for you? Nothing, it will still be unclear as always."
Forum discussion at LinkedIn.
