Product Feed API

A product feed API is a programmatic interface for exchanging product catalog data between systems. Instead of manually exporting CSV files and uploading them to each sales channel, APIs enable real-time, automated data flow between your ecommerce platform and destinations like Google Merchant Center, Meta Commerce Manager, and AI shopping platforms.

Product feed APIs come in several forms:

• Source APIs: Your ecommerce platform's API (Shopify Admin API, Magento REST API, Salesforce Commerce Cloud OCAPI) that exposes product data for extraction
• Destination APIs: Channel APIs that accept product data (Google Content API for Shopping, Meta Catalog API, OpenAI commerce feed endpoints)
• Middleware APIs: Infrastructure platforms that connect source and destination APIs, handling transformation and optimization in between

The shift to AI commerce has made product feed APIs more important. AI shopping agents need current, complete product data to make accurate recommendations. Static CSV uploads updated once a day cannot keep pace with real-time inventory changes, price updates, or the data freshness that AI agents expect.

The key product feed API standards retailers need to know:

Google Content API for Shopping. The primary API for managing product data in Google Merchant Center. Supports real-time inventory and price updates, batch operations for large catalogs, and integration with Google Shopping, Google AI Mode, and Performance Max campaigns. Well-documented with extensive client libraries.

Meta Catalog API (Commerce Manager). Manages product catalogs for Facebook Shops, Instagram Shopping, and Meta advertising. Supports batch and real-time updates, with specific requirements for image dimensions, product categorization, and availability fields.

OpenAI Commerce Feed Specification. The product feed format required for ChatGPT Shopping and Instant Checkout. Defines how products should be structured for AI comprehension, including required fields, content guidelines, and ACP compliance requirements.

Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP provides real-time data connectivity between product catalogs and AI agents. Unlike traditional feed APIs that push periodic updates, MCP enables AI agents to query live inventory, pricing, and product details on demand.

Traditional product feed APIs were designed for channels that update inventory daily or hourly. AI shopping agents raise the bar:

Freshness expectations. When an AI agent recommends a product and the consumer tries to buy it, the product needs to be in stock at the stated price. Stale data creates negative experiences and reduces the AI platform's confidence in recommending your products.

Data richness requirements. Traditional feeds need title, price, image, and availability. AI feeds need natural language descriptions, complete attribute sets, use-case information, and comparison data. AI-powered enrichment can generate this additional data from your existing catalog.

Format diversity. Each AI platform has its own feed spec. The OpenAI commerce feed spec differs from what Perplexity's Merchant Program requires, which differs from Google Merchant Center format. Feed management platforms handle these format translations.

The most effective approach is a middleware API layer -- like Paz.ai's catalog integration -- that ingests product data once from your source system and generates optimized feeds for every channel, traditional and AI-powered, through a single API connection.