As of today, emails have started coming in regarding a small update Google is making to the Automatic Item Updates feature for Merchant Center and feeds.
Automatic Item Updates is nothing new to Google Shopping.
The feature in Merchant Center allows Google to ping one’s E-Commerce website and automatically update price and availability attributes in Google Shopping based on what is found on the site.
For Automatic Item Updates to work, retailers must implement structured data markup on their website such as with schema.org annotations.
The email sent by the Google Shopping Team:
As of the end of this month (October 31st 2017), the feature will be enabled by default in one’s Merchant Center account.
It’s not required to maintain and retailers can turn them off or opt out. If you’re currently logged into your Merchant Center account, use this link to opt out by the 31st.
For those unsure of their structured data markup or want to check, use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.