Google Merchant Center and AI images: the IPTC Digital Source Type requirement
Google says images made with generative AI must carry an embedded IPTC DigitalSourceType tag set to trainedAlgorithmicMedia, and that merchants must not strip it. Google also asks for a structured title and description when the text is AI-generated. The pages we read name no penalty. Our checker can show whether a file carries a source label.
What does Google Merchant Center require for AI-generated images?
Google's help page on preserving metadata tags for AI-generated images is dated February 2024. It says merchants must keep any metadata tags that show an image was created with generative AI, and that those tags must stay in the original file. It states: "All AI-generated images must contain the IPTC DigitalSourceType trainedAlgorithmicMedia tag."
Google's AI-generated content page repeats the rule and says not to remove embedded tags such as the IPTC DigitalSourceType property, including from images made with tools such as Product Studio. It also covers text. We found no country list and no description of what happens to a product that breaks the rule on either page.
| Where | What Google says to do |
|---|---|
| Image link, additional image link, lifestyle image link | Keep the IPTC DigitalSourceType tag, value trainedAlgorithmicMedia, inside the image file. |
| Title of an AI-generated product listing | Use the structured_title attribute, with a required content field and a digital_source_type field set to trained_algorithmic_media. |
| Description of an AI-generated product listing | Use the structured_description attribute, built the same way as the title. |
Neither page mentions Content Credentials, C2PA or SynthID, and neither asks for a visible label on the picture. Neither says what to do with text that AI only edited. For those questions, ask Google.
What is the IPTC Digital Source Type?
It is a field in the image file that says how the picture was made. The IPTC vocabulary gives each value a web address that ends in the value's name, such as trainedAlgorithmicMedia.
- trainedAlgorithmicMedia is media made with an AI model trained on captured content. This is the value Google asks for.
- compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia is a picture augmented, corrected or enhanced by a generative model, for example by inpainting or outpainting.
- algorithmicMedia is media made purely by an algorithm, with no sampled training data.
- digitalCapture is media captured from a real-life source with a digital camera or recording device.
Google's AI-generated content page also names CompositeSynthetic and AlgorithmicMedia as IPTC values. Our guide to the IPTC Digital Source Type values covers the whole list.
What does IPTC say about stripping metadata?
IPTC published a post on February 20, 2024 reporting that Google had added Digital Source Type support to Merchant Center, so that images made with generative AI can be flagged in Google products such as Search, Maps, YouTube and Shopping. IPTC says it endorses Google's position and that website publishers, and tools for product inventories such as Magento and WooCommerce, should not strip image metadata. That is IPTC's position, and the post is a report of Google's change, not a Google page.
How many of our test files carry a digital source type?
We ran 32 real files through the checker: 29 downloaded from Wikimedia Commons categories named "Images generated by" a product, 2 vendor samples and the C2PA project's test image. The test image is not filed as AI-made, so 31 files are. As of October 30, 2026, 9 of those 31 carry a digital source type. The other 22 carry none that the checker reads.
| Where the source type sits | Files |
|---|---|
| Active record inside a signed Content Credentials record | 6 |
| Only in the record of an earlier version of the image, inside a signed record | 2 |
| Unsigned XMP metadata | 1 |
| No source type | 22 |
In the 8 signed records, 7 declare trainedAlgorithmicMedia and 1 declares compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia. The 1 unsigned file reads "Metadata declares AI use". Our other counts are on the accuracy page.
Two limits matter. First, a source type inside a signed record is a Content Credentials declaration that uses the same web addresses as IPTC. Google's pages describe an embedded IPTC property and do not say a signed record satisfies the rule, so we do not say it does. Second, third parties uploaded the Commons files, and we cannot know how each was handled before upload. The counts describe files we hold, not what any product does or what a seller's files hold.
We also drew each of the 9 real files that carry a record onto a canvas in a browser and saved it again as a PNG and as a JPEG. After either re-save, 0 of 9 still read a record, and all 18 outputs read "No supported provenance signals found". A canvas is not a marketplace. We did not test Merchant Center or any shop platform.
What this means when you check an image
Open the checker, choose the file, and look at the headline. Your file never leaves your browser; our Privacy and method page explains how.
- "Metadata declares AI use" means unsigned metadata in the file says a generative source made the image. The line under it names the field. Read that line to see whether the value is the one Google asks for. Anyone can add or remove such a label, so it is not proof.
- "No supported provenance signals found" means we found no signed record, no source label in the metadata and no Stable Diffusion watermark pattern. For a seller, it means the file we were given carries no tag we read. It does not mean the image is real or human-made.
Test the original export from your tool and then the file you upload, because the two can differ. A file with a signed record shows a record headline instead, and the line under it says what the record declares. The result always carries our limit: "These checks cannot determine whether an image is AI-generated." We do not contact Google and cannot tell you whether Merchant Center accepts a file.
Guides on this topic
- Visible AI watermarks is the main page on this topic.
- IPTC Digital Source Type values explained lists each value and what it means.
- Is this product photo AI? covers checking listing and marketplace images.
- Content Credentials versus IPTC and XMP metadata compares a signed record with a label.
- Can EXIF data be trusted? explains why unsigned metadata is a label.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Google Merchant Center require AI-generated images to be labeled?
- Google's pages say images made with generative AI must contain the IPTC DigitalSourceType tag trainedAlgorithmicMedia and that merchants must not remove it. The pages we read describe embedded metadata, not a visible label.
- Do titles and descriptions need a tag too?
- Google says AI-generated titles and descriptions use the structured_title and structured_description attributes, each with digital_source_type set to trained_algorithmic_media.
- Does a Content Credentials record meet the rule?
- Google's pages do not mention Content Credentials. We cannot say whether a record counts, so ask Google.
- What happens if the tag is missing?
- The two pages we read do not say. We have no test of Merchant Center, so we cannot tell you.