Policy
MEDIUMMerchantReturnPolicy applicableCountry uses ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes
When present, `applicableCountry` is a 2-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code (or an array of codes). A non-ISO country is dropped silently; the policy looks present but never reaches the merchant-listing rich result.
What this check looks for
Google's parser strictly expects 2-letter ISO codes (`"US"`, `"GB"`, `"DE"`, etc.). Arrays are accepted (`["US", "CA"]`). Anything else — `"United States"`, `"USA"`, mixed-content arrays — fails this check because the resulting policy node won't render in rich results.
Which AI surfaces it affects
- Google AI Mode (UCP)90
- Microsoft Copilot60
- Meta AI50
- ChatGPT (ACP)40
- Perplexity30
Weighted against the live specs — ACP 2026-04-17, UCP 2026-04-08.
How to fix it
Use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes in applicableCountry
Shopify
Developer- Confirm your Shopify Markets configuration uses standard country selections — Markets emits ISO codes automatically.
- If you hand-roll the JSON-LD, replace any `"United States"` strings with `"US"`.
BigCommerce
Developer- Edit your product template's MerchantReturnPolicy block: ensure the `applicableCountry` token resolves to a 2-letter code, not a country name.
WooCommerce
Developer- In your SEO plugin's policy settings, set the country using the ISO 2-letter dropdown (not a custom string).
- If using a custom snippet, source the code from `WC()->countries->get_base_country()` rather than a freeform string.
Custom / headless
Developer- Use the 2-letter form — both `applicableCountry: "US"` and `applicableCountry: ["US","CA"]` are accepted.
"applicableCountry": ["US", "CA"]The spec it's pinned to
Google return-policy SD — applicableCountry MUST be ISO alpha-2
Google's return-policy spec mandates ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes for `applicableCountry`. Freeform names and 3-letter codes are silently dropped.
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