Starting on March 29, 2024, the Content API for Shopping authentication method and tab in Merchant Center will no longer be available in the classic Merchant Center. This tab, which creates a service account for you, will not be migrated to Merchant Center Next. Service accounts formerly created through this tab will continue to work even after the deprecation. You can still authenticate your Content API calls with a new service account via the service account setup to generate an API key.

After the deprecation, follow these steps, further detailed in our API documentation, if you need to set up a new service account to access the Content API for Shopping:

1. Ensure you have an existing cloud project or create a new one in the Google Cloud Console.
2. Generate or access your service account credentials.
3. Download the JSON private key from Google API Console. This JSON private key can be used in the same way as the one downloaded from Merchant Center previously.
4. Add the new service account as a user to your Merchant Center account. If you’re a third-party developer (and don’t have access to the Merchant Center UI for the account), your client will need to complete this step for you.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us via the forum.

Benji Rothman, Content API for Shopping Team