The Google Content API for Shopping officially reached its sunset date on August 18, 2026. All developers must migrate existing integrations to the Merchant API as soon as feasible.
To encourage migration before full decommissioning and ensure that developers observe deprecation notices in their application logs, Google is introducing a progressive service degradation process starting September 1, 2026.
Sunset timetable
The following table outlines the timeline for service degradation and final decommissioning of the Google Content API for Shopping (v2.1):
| Date | Milestone | Details |
|---|---|---|
| September 1, 2026 | Introduction of intermittent failing requests | Requests without an active extension begin intermittently failing with HTTP 410 Gone. |
| Early 2027 | Decommissioning | Full shutdown. All endpoints are turned down and all requests fail. |
Service degradation and error responses
Starting September 1, 2026, requests sent to Google Content API for Shopping endpoints by clients
without an active extension will intermittently fail with an HTTP 410 Gone
status code.
Error response format
When a request is rejected as part of the scheduled service degradation, the
API returns an HTTP 410 Gone error payload containing the message and
metadata with your Google Cloud project details:
{
"error": {
"code": 410,
"message": "Content API for Shopping was sunset on August 18, 2026 for GCP project with id YOUR_PROJECT_ID and number 123456789012. Please migrate to the Merchant API v1 version. See https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/compatibility for more details",
"status": "ABORTED",
"details": [
{
"@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.ErrorInfo",
"reason": "content_api_sunset",
"domain": "shoppingcontent.googleapis.com",
"metadata": {
"GCP_ID": "YOUR_PROJECT_ID",
"GCP_NUMBER": "YOUR_PROJECT_NUMBER",
"HELP_CENTER_LINK": "https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/compatibility"
}
}
]
}
}
The error response includes the following metadata fields:
GCP_ID: The ID of the Google Cloud project making the request.GCP_NUMBER: The unique numeric identifier of the Google Cloud project.HELP_CENTER_LINK: A direct link to the migration documentation.
Quota impact
Artificial error responses generated during service degradation don't count against your project's API quota.
Retrying failed requests
Because initial service degradation causes only a portion of requests to fail, retrying a failed request might succeed. However, relying on retries is not a viable long-term solution because failing requests will become more frequent until all requests fail at decommissioning.
Impacted developers
The sunset and service degradation process applies to developers and businesses as follows:
- Custom API integrations: If your organization maintains internal tools, scripts, or custom software that makes direct calls to the Google Content API for Shopping, you must update your applications to call the Merchant API.
- Third-party platforms: If you access Merchant Center through an ecommerce platform, your platform partner manages the migration on your behalf. No action is required on your part.
Action required
To prevent disruptions to your product listings and account management:
- Review the Merchant API overview to understand the architecture, authentication, and sub-API structures.
- Follow the Migrate from Content API for Shopping to Merchant API guide to identify modern equivalents for your current Content API services.
- Install the latest Merchant API client libraries for your programming language.
- Update and test your integration in a development environment before deploying to production.
Request an extension
If your organization requires additional time to complete migration, you can apply for an extension to temporarily exempt your Google Cloud project from service degradation errors. To request an extension, submit the Content API extension request form.
Approved extensions protect your projects from scheduled error responses through your approved extension window. Extensions don't extend past final decommissioning in early 2027.