Google has expanded its merchant loyalty program to five additional countries — India, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Spain — bringing the total to 14 supported markets, according to updated Google Merchant Center help documentation. The same documentation update confirms that Loyalty Customer Match now works in AI Mode and Gemini, a first for the program.

The help document changes, spotted in the Merchant Center documentation on December 5, 2024, signal that these features have either rolled out or will roll out shortly. Google typically updates help documentation in tandem with, or slightly ahead of, live product availability.

What changed in the documentation

The update touches nearly every part of how merchants run loyalty programs through Google Merchant Center:

• AI Mode and Gemini support. AI Mode and Gemini are now explicitly mentioned in the document. Previously, neither appeared, meaning loyalty pricing and member benefits can now surface in Google's AI-driven experiences, not just traditional Search surfaces and Shopping ads.
• Merchant API integration. Loyalty Customer Match is now available through the Merchant API, giving developers a programmatic path to upload and manage loyalty member lists.
• Non-advertisers can participate. The documentation explicitly states loyalty participation is open to merchants who do not advertise on Google. This is a meaningful widening: previously the program functioned largely as an advertising-audience feature, so free-listing merchants now gain direct access.
• New qualifying membership types. Loyalty points and completed-order thresholds are now added as qualifying membership types, alongside existing membership-based identification.
• Free-trial restrictions clarified. Free-to-join programs cannot require eventual payment, and Google now explicitly rules out certain free trials as qualifying. Merchants running trial-to-paid funnels should check whether their structure still qualifies.
• Availability matrix added. A new country-by-country and device-by-device availability grid now documents exactly where and on what devices the program works.

Country expansion details

Before this update, the loyalty program supported merchants in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia, with Japan supported separately for points programs only. The five additions — India, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Spain — bring the official count to 14 countries.

The expansion matters most for retailers in the newly added markets, who previously could not show loyalty pricing or member-exclusive offers in Google surfaces. For US-based and other long-supported merchants, the more consequential change is likely the AI Mode and Gemini mention: it confirms Google intends loyalty data to inform its generative AI shopping experiences, not just classic search results and Shopping tab listings.

Why the free-listing change matters

The clarification that non-advertisers can participate, combined with new identification methods for loyalty members in free listings, points to a broader strategy. Google appears to be pulling loyalty program data deeper into organic shopping surfaces — where merchants do not pay for placement — rather than keeping it siloed as an ads-audience tool.

The addition of loyalty points and completed orders as qualifying membership types also lowers the barrier for merchants whose programs reward activity rather than charging membership fees. A retailer with a points program but no paid tier can now potentially qualify where before the program structure may not have fit.

What merchants should do now

Merchants in the five newly added countries should review the updated availability matrix to confirm device support in their market before enrolling. All merchants running free trials as part of their loyalty funnel should verify their program still meets Google's revised eligibility rules. Those with developer resources can begin planning integrations through the Merchant API now that the program has an official API path.

Watch for confirmation in Merchant Center accounts and for Google's own announcements, which would move these documentation signals from strongly implied rollout to officially confirmed availability. The next thing to monitor: whether loyalty pricing begins appearing in AI Mode results and Gemini shopping answers in the newly supported countries.