Google Merchant Center image rules: no watermark, price or CTA overlay

Google Merchant Center says not to use an image that contains promotional elements or content that covers the product, and names calls to action, price information, watermarks, barcodes and logos. the prompt decides what appears in a generated image, so ask for the product alone and inspect the result.

What exactly does Google prohibit?

The page read on 2026-09-30 says: don't use an image that contains promotional elements or content that covers the product. The named examples are below.

How do I ask for a clean image?

Describe the product and a plain backdrop, and leave copy out. background accepts auto, transparent or opaque on ChatGPT Image 2.5, so opaque asks for a filled backdrop and transparent for a cut-out. A model may still draw text it invents on a package, so look at the whole frame.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/images \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openai/gpt-image-2.5",
    "prompt": "Blue running shoe, plain white background, no text, no logos added",
    "image_size": "1536x1536",
    "background": "opaque"
  }'

Can I keep my real product intact?

Up to 16 reference images can be passed to this model, plus an optional mask_url for edits. That lets you start from your own product photo and change only the backdrop, which keeps the item closer to what you sell.

What should I check before upload?

Look for stray text, a fake logo or a shadow that covers part of the item. Sume cannot tell whether an image will be accepted by Google, so use Merchant Center's own diagnostics as the final check.