TL;DR
- Search Engine Roundtable reported on 2 October 2026 that Google's Merchant Center loyalty documentation now mentions AI Mode and Gemini Apps, which the help page marks as US only.
- The country list reached 14 markets, with India, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea and Spain newly named; Japan is covered by separate points-program guidelines and Thailand is not listed.
- Member pricing shows in ads only when the discount is at least 5% or 5 currency units; loyalty points and completed orders now count as qualifying membership types.
- Neither source gives a rollout schedule or performance data, and neither mentions Thailand.
Google's Merchant Center help documentation now names AI Mode and Gemini Apps as places where loyalty benefits can show, and its country list reached 14 markets, according to Search Engine Roundtable on 2 October 2026. The current Google Merchant Center Help page on the loyalty program lists Search, the Shopping tab, Google Wallet, local inventory ads, and AI Mode and Gemini Apps, with the AI Mode and Gemini line marked as US only. Thailand does not appear in the country list.
What the Google help page says about loyalty benefits
The loyalty program is described on Google's Merchant Center Help page as an add-on feature for merchants who already run a loyalty program. It lets a merchant show loyalty benefits across Google properties at no additional cost. A merchant that has no member scheme has nothing to submit, so the feature does not create a program; it only publishes the benefits of an existing one.
The page lists these places where benefits can appear: Google Search (both Shopping ads and free listings), the Shopping tab, Google Wallet, AI Mode and Gemini Apps (US only), and local inventory ads. It adds that the experience varies by device and by country. That last sentence matters for anyone planning a launch, because a benefit shown in one country on one device type may not be shown anywhere else.
What changed, according to Search Engine Roundtable
Search Engine Roundtable reported on 2 October 2026 that Google had updated the documentation. The outlet's summary of the changes runs as follows.
- AI Mode and Gemini are now mentioned in the document. Search Engine Roundtable noted that earlier versions did not mention them.
- Loyalty Customer Match is available through the Merchant API.
- The documentation states that loyalty participation is open to non-advertisers.
- Loyalty points and completed orders were added as qualifying membership types.
- The documentation clarifies the position of programs involving eventual payment, including certain free trials; the report does not spell out the exact rule.
- The country list grew from 8 to 14, with India, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea and Spain added.
- A country-by-country and device-by-device availability matrix was added.
Search Engine Roundtable did not give the date on which each edit was made to the help page, and the text of the help page read for this article showed no change log. The 2 October date is therefore the date of the report, not a confirmed publication date for each change.
Loyalty facts at a glance
The table below collects the main facts from the Google help page and the Search Engine Roundtable report, so each row can be checked against its source.
| Topic | What the sources state |
|---|---|
| Where benefits display | Google Search (Shopping ads and free listings), Shopping tab, Google Wallet, local inventory ads, AI Mode and Gemini Apps (US only) |
| Cost to the merchant | No additional cost; add-on to an existing loyalty program |
| Membership types supported | Free to join, spending requirement, membership fee, loyalty credit card, points accumulation, completed orders threshold |
| Not supported | Occupation-based tiers such as student, military or first responder |
| Benefit types | Free shipping or delivery, redeemable points (US free listings only), loyalty pricing |
| Pricing threshold | Member discount of at least 5% or at least 5 units of currency off the regular price |
| Ways to identify members | Merchant API upload, Customer Match for Ads, Google Wallet loyalty card, member self-declaration |
| Countries | US, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom; Japan under separate points-program guidelines |
Membership types and benefit rules
The help page names six membership structures that qualify: free-to-join programs, programs with a spending requirement, programs with a membership fee, loyalty credit cards, points accumulation, and completed-order thresholds. Search Engine Roundtable singled out two of those, loyalty points and completed orders, as additions. It also reported a clarification about programs involving eventual payment, including certain free trials, without giving the exact rule. The help page, as read, states a restriction of its own: occupation-based tiers, with student, military and first responder given as examples, are unsupported.
Three benefit types appear on the page. Free shipping or delivery counts, including same-day options. Redeemable points count, but only for US free listings. Loyalty pricing counts, with a floor: member pricing appears in ads only when the member discount is at least 5% or at least 5 units of currency off the regular price. A merchant offering a smaller member discount would not qualify for the pricing display on that rule.
How Google identifies a loyalty member
The help page lists four ways to identify members. The first is Merchant API uploads of customer loyalty data. The second is the Customer Match for Ads integration. The third is Google Wallet loyalty card integration. The fourth is manual membership declaration by the user. Google's page names the combination Loyalty Customer Match when it describes the personalised experience built on those inputs.
Mechanically, this means the member benefit is not a property of the product feed alone. A shopper has to be recognised as a member before a member price or a member shipping benefit is meant to show. The Merchant API route, which Search Engine Roundtable flagged as newly available for Loyalty Customer Match, gives merchants a programmatic way to supply that membership data rather than relying on the other routes.
Where the new country list stands
Search Engine Roundtable reported that the list grew from 8 countries to 14. It named the previous markets as the US, UK, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, with Japan supported separately for points programs, and named five new markets: India, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea and Spain. The report counts Japan separately from the eight.
The current Google help page lists thirteen markets in the main list and handles Japan under separate points-program guidelines. Thailand is on neither list.
What the sources did not say
Neither source gives a rollout schedule. Neither source says when AI Mode or Gemini will show loyalty benefits outside the US, or whether they will. Neither source reports any performance data, such as click-through, conversion or order-value effects from showing loyalty benefits. Neither source describes how loyalty information is ranked or selected inside an AI Mode answer. Nothing in either source mentions Thailand, Thai retailers, Thai baht pricing or Thai-language support. Any statement on those points would be a guess.
The help page does say availability varies by device and country, and Search Engine Roundtable reported that a country-by-country and device-by-device matrix now sits in the documentation, which is where the exact combinations belong. This article did not reproduce the matrix because its cell values were not available in the text that was read.
What this means for Thai marketers
For merchants selling to Thai shoppers from Thailand, the practical reading is a watch item rather than an action item. The country list does not include Thailand, and the AI Mode and Gemini placement is described as US only. Programs built for Thai shoppers are not covered by this feature on the evidence of the help page.
The page still matters for two groups. Thai brands that sell cross-border into the listed countries, for example into the US, Australia, the United Kingdom or Germany, may be able to use loyalty benefits there if they hold a qualifying member program and meet the country rules. Thai retailers that run loyalty apps or points schemes can also use the help page as a preview of how Google structures such data: membership types, benefit types and member identification. That is analysis, not something either source says about Thailand.
The AI Mode mention is the part with a wider lesson. Product-level facts that an answer engine can read, such as price, shipping and member benefit, are the facts that can appear in an answer. Brands that want those facts to be accurate in AI search can start with a clean product feed and clear policy pages, which is the territory of ecommerce marketing and generative engine optimization. Merchants who buy Shopping traffic should also review how member pricing would interact with their Google Ads setup if their markets are ever added.
What to check in your own account
- Open Merchant Center and look for the loyalty program section. If your account country is not on the list, expect no option to appear.
- Confirm that your member program fits one of the six membership types and is not occupation-based.
- Check that your member discount meets the 5% or 5-unit threshold if your benefit is a member price.
- Decide which of the four member-identification routes you could realistically run: Merchant API, Customer Match, Wallet card or self-declaration.
- Read the availability matrix on the help page for the countries and devices you sell to, instead of assuming a benefit shows everywhere.
- If you sell in the US, note that AI Mode and Gemini Apps appear only there on the page as read.
Frequently asked questions about Google loyalty benefits
Does Google loyalty work in Thailand?
No, Thailand is not on the country list in the Google help page as read, so the feature is not stated to be available there. Search Engine Roundtable did not mention Thailand either, and neither source gives a plan to add it.
Do loyalty benefits show in AI Mode and Gemini?
Yes, but the help page marks AI Mode and Gemini Apps as US only. Search Engine Roundtable reported on 2 October 2026 that the documentation now mentions them, and the page lists them next to Search, the Shopping tab, Google Wallet and local inventory ads.
Do I need to run Google Ads to use it?
No, the documentation states that loyalty participation is open to non-advertisers. Free listings are named as a place benefits can appear, so a merchant without ad spend can still take part where the country rules allow it.
What is the minimum member discount?
The minimum is 5% or 5 units of currency off the regular price. The help page says member pricing displays in ads only when the member discount meets one of those two thresholds.
How do members get recognised?
Google lists four routes: Merchant API uploads, Customer Match for Ads, Google Wallet loyalty cards and manual declaration by the member. Search Engine Roundtable flagged the Merchant API route as an addition to Loyalty Customer Match.
For retailers who want help reviewing a Merchant Center feed or planning how product data reaches AI search, Relevant Audience can walk through the setup. The facts above come from Google's documentation as reported on 2 October 2026 and may change as the help page is revised.
