Changes to Content API request validation

What’s changing?

The Content API for Shopping will gradually roll out improvements to request validation from January 1, 2021 to February 15, 2021. These changes will be applied to a growing percentage of requests during that time, reaching 100% by February 15, 2021. The validation improvements will ensure that certain requests that are not in the proper format result in an error instead of having the Content API attempt to infer the request's intent. As long as you are submitting the proper type and structure for each field, you will not be affected by this change.

The following sections describe two examples of incorrectly formatted requests that may fail after January 1st, 2021. If your requests start to fail after January 1st, 2021, please refer to the error message returned and correct the formatting issue.

Example: Providing an invalid structure for a repeated field

This error applies to providing any invalid type for a repeated field, such as providing a list of objects instead of a list of strings, or vice versa.

Example invalid v2.1 request

The following request is invalid because the includedDestinations field requires a list of strings, not a list of objects: 

{
  "targetCountry": "US",
  "offerId": "123",
  "contentLanguage": "en",
  "channel": "online",
  "includedDestinations": [{"destinationName": "Shopping", "intention": "default"}]
}

Example valid v2.1 request

To correct this issue, change the list of objects to a list of strings: 

{
  "targetCountry": "US",
  "offerId": "123",
  "contentLanguage": "en",
  "channel": "online",
  "includedDestinations": ["Shopping", "SurfacesAcrossGoogle"]
}

Other common fields affected by this change

  • v2.1:
    • product.excluded_destinations (a common mistake is providing the v2 format of this field for requests to v2.1)
  • v2:
    • product.destinations (a common mistake is providing the v2.1 format of this field for requests to v2)
    • product.sizes
    • product.additional_image_links
    • product.shipping

Example: Submitting a string that represents a float instead of an integer

This error applies to providing a string containing a floating point number when an integer is required.

Example invalid v2.1 request

The following request is invalid because the sellOnGoogleQuantity requires a string in int64 format, but the string “100.0” is a float: 

{
  "targetCountry": "US",
  "offerId": "123",
  "contentLanguage": "en",
  "channel": "online",
  "sellOnGoogleQuantity": "100.0"
}

Example valid v2.1 request

To correct this issue, change the value to an integer: 

{
  "targetCountry": "US",
  "offerId": "123",
  "contentLanguage": "en",
  "channel": "online",
  "sellOnGoogleQuantity": "100"
}

Other common fields affected by this change

  • v2.1:
    • product.unit_pricing_base_measure.value
  • v2:
    • inventory.sell_on_google_quantity
    • product.unit_pricing_base_measure.value

What do I do?

We recommend that you address any incorrectly formatted requests before January 1st, 2021 to avoid any disruptions to your application.

If you are already submitting the proper type for each field as described in the Content API for Shopping reference docs, no action is required.

Need More Help?

If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to us on the forum.

 Benji Rothman, Content API for Shopping Team