What can I put in a Google Shopping product description?
Direct answerDescribe only that product. Leave the price, the shipping offer, and the store name out. Google’s description attribute, reviewed October 23, 2026, is required and stops at 5,000 characters. A description written by generative AI has to be a structured description. If you also send a plain description, Google uses the plain one.
Which field
- Text you did not write with generative AI can use either description or structured description.
- Text you did write with generative AI uses structured description. Put the words in content, and set digital source type to trained_algorithmic_media. A blank source type means default, which means the text was not made with generative AI.
- If both attributes are present, Google uses only the plain description.
- A description past the limit is truncated, and Merchant Center warns you. It does not say that extra characters alone disapprove the product.
The same pattern for a product title is the title attribute. Capitalization in a Search ad is an editorial rule.
What to leave out
Google says the description has to stay consistent with the title and the landing page, and it has to describe only the product:
- Do not describe compatible products, accessories, or other products. Do not write “even better than X.”
- Do not include the business history, store policies, or links. The product URL belongs in the link attribute.
- Do not paste a category path such as “Toys & Games > Dolls.” Use the product category or product type attributes.
- Do not include price, sale price, sale dates, shipping, a delivery date, other time-related details, or the company name.
- Use grammatical language. Do not use all caps, symbols, or promotional text to draw attention. Capitalization is for real abbreviations, phone numbers, countries, and currency, such as ADHD or USD.
- Do not use foreign words unless they are widely understood, such as a product’s own name, and do not use foreign characters as a gimmick. Google’s example of a gimmick is “(ಠ_ಠ)”. The product data as a whole has to match the data-source language.
A customized product should mention the customization, such as engraving. A bundle or multipack should describe the whole thing, including what is sold together or how many units are in the pack. Google’s best practice is to put the most important details in the first 160 to 500 characters, because shoppers have to click through to read the rest. That range is a best practice. The hard limit is 5,000.
This attribute page does not print a 7-day suspension warning.
Sources
Reviewed October 23, 2026. Policies change. This is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
I uploaded an AI description and a normal description. Which one does Google use?
The plain description. Google says that if you submit both the structured description and the description, it uses only the description attribute. An AI description therefore has to be the structured description, with the source type set to trained_algorithmic_media, and you should not also send a competing plain description if you want the AI text to be the one that is used.
Does a missing description disapprove the product?
Google says a product with no description receives a warning and may have limited performance, and that similar products with a description may be prioritized. It also says not following the description guidelines can lead to a disapproval or limited serving. This page does not print a 7-day account warning. A description over 5,000 characters is truncated, and you get a warning that it was truncated.
Can the description say “Free shipping” or name my store?
No. Google says not to include promotional text such as price, sale price, sale dates, shipping, a delivery date, other time-related information, or the company name. Those belong in their own attributes.
Check the description against the product page
LaunchGuarding can scan the ad and the landing page for a shipping or price claim that does not belong in the description.