Google Merchant Center AI Performance Adds AI Search

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Athletic shoe scanned by blue sensor beams for Google Merchant Center AI performance Insights

By NewSunSEO September 23, 2026

Google Merchant Center AI Performance Insights gained three new reporting sections, AI Search intent, AI Search terms, and AI attributes, giving merchants a clearer read on how their products perform inside AI-powered shopping experiences. The expansion arrived roughly two months after the report first launched and follows its broader rollout to more regions earlier this month.

What merchants can see in the new AI Performance sections

Each of the three new sections answers a different question about how a product shows up in AI search results.

AI Search intent shows how products match the kinds of queries shoppers send to AI search tools, helping merchants understand whether their catalog lines up with what people are asking for.
AI Search terms recommends wording improvements, specifically suggesting popular terms to weave into product descriptions for items that already surface in AI searches, which can broaden visibility.
AI attributes flags missing attributes on products that appear in AI search results, with recommendations for adding the fields that would close those gaps.

When the changes appeared and how they were noticed

Google posted updates to the help documentation that accompanies the report, and a comparison of the revised document against the older version shows the new sections added to the interface. The expanded report was spotted in a screenshot shared publicly, confirming that the new metrics are live rather than in a testing phase.

Why the new sections matter for product feeds

The three additions move the report from a single performance readout into a working surface for product feed optimization. AI Search intent gives merchants a way to measure alignment between their catalog and the way shoppers describe what they want in natural language. AI Search terms surfaces the words and phrases that AI search already associates with a product, so feed writers can decide whether to include them in descriptions. AI attributes highlights structured fields a product is missing, which is often the fastest path to better placement because structured data is what AI systems pull on first.

Together, the sections turn AI Performance Insights into a feedback loop: merchants can read intent, pick up missing terms, fill in missing fields, then watch the report to see whether product visibility improves.

How merchants should use the new reporting

The practical workflow reads as three steps. Start with AI Search intent to confirm that the products in a feed actually match the queries AI search is being asked. Move to AI Search terms to copy the recommended phrases into titles and descriptions where they fit naturally. Finish with AI attributes to add any structured fields the report flags as missing, since those fields are often what an AI system needs to confidently surface a product.

For merchants running large catalogs, the attributes section tends to deliver the biggest returns because a single missing field can suppress a product across many AI search results. For merchants with smaller, hand-curated feeds, the terms section is often the quicker win because description edits can be made and reviewed without touching structured data.

Rollout and availability

The AI Performance Insights report launched in July and began expanding to more regions earlier this month. The addition of the three new sections is part of that broader rollout, and merchants who already have access to the report should see the new sections appear in the interface. The accompanying help documentation has been updated alongside the product change.

FAQ

What is new in Google Merchant Center AI Performance Insights?

Three new reporting sections were added: AI Search intent, AI Search terms, and AI attributes. Together they show how products match AI queries, recommend terms to add to descriptions, and flag missing product attributes.

When did Google launch AI Performance Insights in Merchant Center?

The AI Performance Insights report launched in July and has been expanding to more regions, with the new sections added during that broader rollout.

How do the AI attributes and AI Search terms sections help merchants?

AI attributes recommends adding missing structured fields to products that appear in AI searches, and AI Search terms recommends wording changes to product descriptions. Both are aimed at improving product visibility in AI search results.