Discovery
HIGHSampled PDPs are not gated behind a login wall (401 / 403)
No sampled PDP returns 401 or 403 to an anonymous request. PDPs behind a login wall are silently dropped from Google's merchant listing and from every AI agent surface.
What this check looks for
Google merchant listing requirements treat 401 / 403 PDPs as ineligible — the crawler can't read the product data. Common causes are wholesale-only catalogues, B2B login gates, and CDN bot challenges. We compare the status code of every sampled PDP (as captured by the fetcher) and report 401 / 403 as a fail.
Which AI surfaces it affects
- Google AI Mode (UCP)100
- ChatGPT (ACP)90
- Microsoft Copilot90
- Perplexity80
- Meta AI80
Weighted against the live specs — ACP 2026-04-17, UCP 2026-04-08.
How to fix it
Open PDPs to anonymous fetches
Shopify
A few minutes- Online Store → Preferences → confirm Enable password is OFF. Password-protected storefronts return 403 on every URL.
- If wholesale-only via the Wholesale channel, expose a public retail mirror or use Shopify B2B with a public storefront.
BigCommerce
A few minutes- Storefront → Status: confirm storefront is set to Live (not Down for Maintenance).
- If you operate a B2B-only store, set up a public retail channel.
WooCommerce
A few minutes- Confirm WordPress is not in maintenance mode (no .maintenance file in the WP root).
- Disable any membership / login-required plugin on PDP routes.
Custom / headless
Developer- On PDP routes, return 200 to anonymous requests; gate only checkout / account pages.
// Allow anonymous reads on PDP routes
app.get('/products/:slug', async (req, res) => {
const product = await loadProduct(req.params.slug);
if (!product) return res.status(404).send('Not found');
return res.status(200).render('pdp', { product });
});The spec it's pinned to
Google merchant listing — anonymously fetchable PDPs
Google merchant listing requirements mandate that PDPs are crawlable without authentication. 401/403 responses on PDPs make the product ineligible.
Does your store pass this check?
Run the full audit — 82 checks across five AI shopping surfaces. Most tools only check whether you get mentioned; we check whether an agent can buy from you.