Google has announced a series of updates affecting both Google Ads and Google Merchant Centre policies.
The changes span multiple areas, including alcohol subscriptions, prescription drug billing models, gambling regulations, and advertising rules around government documents and services.
Google Merchant Centre’s physical goods subscriptions policy is being expanded to formally cover alcohol products, such as wine club memberships, for eligible merchants in the United States.
To qualify, alcohol subscription offers must:
- Comply with all existing Alcoholic beverages policies.
- Use the Google product category “Alcoholic Beverages” (ID 99676) to ensure proper classification and compliance.
- Include the subscription cost [subscription_cost] attribute in the product feed, reflecting the total, non-discounted recurring charge.
Google notes that only one subscription price per landing page can be supported.
The subscription cost must represent the full periodic payment before discounts.
Merchants are also encouraged to review their checkout flow to ensure all mandatory fees are clearly disclosed to customers.
Google is also revising its recurring billing rules to allow certified U.S. Online Pharmacies to advertise prescription drugs using recurring billing structures and bundled offerings.
Eligible certified merchants may now promote:
- Prescription drug subscriptions: Recurring billing for prescription medications.
- Prescription drug bundles: Packages combining prescription drugs with services (such as weight loss programs or coaching), provided the prescription drug remains the primary product.
- Prescription drug consultation services: Offers providing access to prescription medication, including eligibility evaluations. These may be standalone recurring consultations or bundled with a prescription drug.
To participate, merchants must:
- Maintain certification as a U.S. Online Pharmacy.
- Use the subscription cost [subscription_cost] attribute to submit the full, non-discounted recurring payment.
- Include a URL linking to subscription terms and conditions in the return policy field within Merchant Centre.
- Clearly disclose all fees and explicitly state what the offer includes on the landing page (for example, “prescription drug only” or a “bundled treatment plan”).
- Follow all existing Healthcare & Medicine and recurring billing policies.
Accounts previously disapproved for prescription drug subscriptions may request a new review once they meet the updated requirements.
Effective March 31, 2026, Google will modify the United States section of its Gambling and Games policy. The update will temporarily suspend new certification applications for online gambling content aggregators operating in Indiana.
Beginning March 17, 2026, Google will revise its “Other restricted businesses: Government documents and services” policy.
Advertisers promoting “Business identifiers” and exclusively targeting India will not be required to qualify as a government entity or authorised provider. However, they must still apply for an exclusion under the policy to avoid a disapproval.
Advertisers promoting other restricted government documents or services covered by the policy will still need to apply for certification under the appropriate category.
Google has confirmed that enforcement of this policy update will begin on March 17, 2026.