Google’s AI-generated content guidance says images created using generative AI must use IPTC DigitalSourceType TrainedAlgorithmicMedia. Its product-data guidance separately says not to remove embedded metadata. This checker uses that declared value as the Google-workflow preflight condition; it does not decide whether pixels came from an AI system.
What to inspect
- The XMP IPTC Extension property
Iptc4xmpExt:DigitalSourceType. - Whether its controlled-vocabulary value is
http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/trainedAlgorithmicMedia. - Any C2PA provenance signal and its verification result, as separate evidence rather than a Merchant Center acceptance guarantee.
What a result means
A pass means the checked file declares the expected IPTC value and has no C2PA signature risk found by the verifier. Missing means the field was not found. Inconsistent means the declaration does not meet this Google-workflow rule. A signature-risk result means a potential Content Credentials signal could not be fully verified. None of these outcomes is a certification or platform decision.
Useful boundaries
Google accepts JPEG, PNG, and WebP image-link formats and states a 16 MB / 64 megapixel limit. This checker enforces the same decimal 16 MB limit (16,000,000 bytes) before reading the file and reports declared metadata; it is not a full image-link or image-quality validator. Re-encoding or other modification can remove metadata and can invalidate signed credentials.
Check one local imageDownload the merchant checklist
Primary sources: Google AI-generated content; Product data specification; Image link guidance. Retrieved in the P0 source record on 2026-08-14.