Merchant Center Adds a Warranty Attribute: What Changes

Google Merchant Center has a new "warranty" attribute that lets retailers state a product's warranty in Shopping ads and free listings. Search Engine Land reported it on October 16, 2026. Google labels it optional but ties it to local disclosure rules such as Quebec's, which requires the warranty length to appear next to the price.

What we know

What it is: Merchant Center's help page "Warranty [warranty]" says the attribute shows warranty information for a product. The page carries no date.
When it applies: the help page lists it as optional for products that must show certain information in ads or free listings because of local rules, and names Quebec's Bill 29 in Canada. It also covers vehicle ads in Japan. According to Search Engine Land, that was the only use until now.
How to format it: two sub-attributes, both required for products: `duration`, a whole number, and `duration_unit`, either `month` or `year`. In a text feed the column header is `warranty(duration:duration_unit)` and a value looks like `3:year`. If the unit is left out, Google defaults to months.
What it lacks: the attribute's spec lists no matching schema.org property.
Google's examples: a TV with `4:year` and a phone with `3:year`, both priced in Canadian dollars.
The Quebec rule: Bill 29 received assent on October 5, 2023. A document from Quebec's consumer protection office (Office de la protection du consommateur, OPC) says the legal guarantee of good working order applies from October 5, 2026. According to Éducaloi, a Quebec legal information nonprofit, it covers stoves, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and heat pumps for six years; washers, dryers and dishwashers for five; TVs for four; and computers, phones, tablets and game consoles for three. Éducaloi adds that merchants must display the coverage length near the price, online included.

What changes and what doesn't

What changes: retailers now have a dedicated field to send warranty terms with the rest of their product data, instead of burying them in the description. The timing matches Quebec's new guarantee, which is the very case Google cites.

What doesn't: visibility. The help page doesn't say the attribute boosts reach or ranking, and Search Engine Land notes Google hasn't announced any performance effect. It also doesn't create obligations outside markets with their own rules. For a store that only sells in the US or the UK, it stays optional.

How to tell if it affects you

If you sell into Quebec any product on that list, this attribute is the obvious way to carry into Google what you already must show on your own site. Use years, as the help page recommends for Bill 29. The OPC publishes a sample product page marked "compliant" that shows "garantie de bon fonctionnement : 3 ans" right by the price.
Check the unit. A bare `3` means three months, not three years. It's the easiest mistake to make when filling the column by hand.
Don't rely on structured data. Since there's no schema.org equivalent, the warranty on your product page has no path to reach Merchant Center on its own. Send it in the feed or through the Merchant API.
Add it without touching your main feed. If a WooCommerce plugin or the Shopify integration builds your catalog and won't take custom columns, a supplemental data source with two columns, `id` and `warranty(duration:duration_unit)`, is enough for the products that need it.
Keep both in sync. The warranty in the feed should match the one on your product page. If you don't sell into Quebec, adding it is optional: do it only if the data is accurate and you can keep it current.

This article is not legal advice: for Quebec's rule, check with the Office de la protection du consommateur or a lawyer.

Sources

Updates: if Google formally announces the attribute, extends it to other countries or ties it to visibility, it will be added here with a link.