By Steve Merrill, Founder of WRKNG Digital | June 11, 2026
The eight Shopify store policies that unlock AI shopping channel eligibility are: a return policy, refund policy, shipping policy with delivery windows, privacy policy, terms of service, a contact page with real business information, SSL-secured checkout, and an about page. Most stores are missing at least two. That's why they're invisible on Google Shopping, ChatGPT Shopping, and Perplexity's product results.
1. Return Policy Page
AI shopping channels and Google Merchant Center both scan for a dedicated return policy before they'll surface your products. It needs to be its own page — not buried in your FAQ. Google's Shopping policies explicitly require a return window to be visible and machine-readable. Shopify's built-in return policy generator creates a page at /policies/refund-policy — use it, link it in your footer.
2. Refund Policy
A return policy tells customers how to send something back. A refund policy tells them when they'll get their money. AI channels treat these as separate trust signals. If your refund terms are vague, "refunds issued at our discretion", that's a disqualifier for channels that protect buyer experience. State a clear timeframe. Seven business days is the standard. Twenty-four-hour processing makes you stand out.
3. Shipping Policy with Delivery Windows
AI shopping assistants like Perplexity and ChatGPT Shopping pull delivery estimates directly from your product data and policies. No delivery window means no estimate. No estimate means your product gets skipped. Google Merchant Center's shipping settings require specific transit times for Shopping ads eligibility, the same logic applies to AI-driven channels. Set min and max delivery days per shipping zone.
4. Privacy Policy Page
Every AI shopping platform, Google, Microsoft, Meta, requires a privacy policy to approve a merchant account. It's not optional. It's also a trust signal that AI models parse when evaluating whether to cite your store in a shopping recommendation. Shopify generates one at /policies/privacy-policy. Make sure it includes data collection practices, third-party sharing, and a contact method for privacy requests. That's what satisfies both legal requirements and channel verification checks.
5. Terms of Service Page
Most store owners treat their terms of service as a legal formality. AI shopping channels treat it as a legitimacy signal. A missing or placeholder TOS is a fast path to channel suspension. Shopify's policy generator covers the basics. Customize the dispute resolution and governing law sections, generic placeholder text flags as incomplete in automated merchant reviews.
6. Contact Page with Real Business Information
AI shopping systems verify that a real business is behind the store. A contact page with only a web form doesn't pass that check. You need a physical address or at minimum a city and state, a business email, and ideally a phone number. Google Merchant Center's business information requirements are explicit on this. Stores without verifiable contact details get flagged for manual review. That review takes weeks.
7. SSL Certificate and Secure Checkout
Shopify includes SSL by default. But if you've ever pointed a custom domain incorrectly, it can break. An insecure checkout page disqualifies you from every AI shopping channel immediately. Run your domain through SSL Labs' test and confirm your checkout is fully HTTPS. Also verify that your Add to Cart and payment pages don't redirect through any HTTP step. One unsecured redirect kills eligibility.
8. About Page with Business Transparency
An about page is the trust signal that separates real brands from drop-shippers in AI channel reviews. It should include your brand origin, what you sell and why, and who's behind the business. AI models are getting better at distinguishing established brands from storefronts with no identity. This is the page that makes the difference when a shopping assistant is deciding between two products at a similar price point. One store has a story. The other has nothing. The one with the story wins.
How We Chose This List
These eight policies come directly from the published eligibility requirements of Google Merchant Center, Microsoft Shopping, and the emerging requirements from AI-native shopping channels including ChatGPT Shopping and Perplexity Commerce. We cross-referenced against the stores we've audited, the ones missing channel eligibility almost always trace back to one or more of these gaps. These aren't best practices. They're prerequisites.
FAQ
Q: Do I need all eight policies to be eligible for AI shopping channels?
Most channels require the core four: return policy, privacy policy, terms of service, and a contact page. The others, shipping windows, refund policy, SSL verification, and an about page, determine whether you stay eligible after your initial approval. Missing them is how stores get suspended after they're already running.
Q: Shopify auto-generates policies. Are those good enough?
They're a starting point. The auto-generated versions are generic templates. AI channel reviewers and Google's automated systems flag placeholder text. Customize the delivery windows, refund timelines, and business details to reflect what your store actually does.
Q: How often do AI shopping channels re-verify store policies?
Google re-crawls merchant policies regularly, expect at least monthly re-verification. Newer AI shopping channels like Perplexity and ChatGPT Shopping are still building out their merchant review systems, but they inherit policy requirements from Bing and Google's existing infrastructure. Assume anything you publish is being checked on a rolling basis.
Q: What's the fastest way to check if my store has these pages?
Go to Shopify Admin > Settings > Policies. Every policy field should be filled and published. Then check your footer, all policy links should be visible without scrolling. If a policy page isn't linked in your footer, AI crawlers may not find it even if the page exists.
Q: Does having all eight policies guarantee AI shopping channel eligibility?
No. Policies are the floor, not the ceiling. You also need accurate product data, valid GTINs, clean images, and pricing consistency between your site and your feed. But without these eight policies in place, the other optimizations don't matter, channels won't approve the account in the first place.
