Policy
MEDIUMReturns/refund policy page reachable
A returns/refund policy page is reachable from the homepage nav or at a platform-conventional URL with non-stub body content. AI agents quote return terms to shoppers; missing returns pages are a baseline trust failure that suppresses you from agentic shopping cards.
What this check looks for
We discover candidate returns-policy URLs in two passes: first by scoring nav/footer anchors for keywords like "return", "refund", "exchange"; then by appending the platform's conventional path (`/policies/refund-policy` on Shopify, `/returns/` on BigCommerce, etc.). We probe each URL in order — the first 2xx response with at least 200 characters of HTML-stripped body text passes.
Which AI surfaces it affects
- Google AI Mode (UCP)70
- Perplexity50
- Microsoft Copilot50
- ChatGPT (ACP)30
- Meta AI30
Weighted against the live specs — ACP 2026-04-17, UCP 2026-04-08.
How to fix it
Publish a returns policy page and link it from your site nav/footer
Shopify
A few minutes- Settings → Policies → Return and refund policy: paste Shopify's template and customize. Shopify auto-publishes it at `/policies/refund-policy`.
- Confirm the policy is linked from your footer (Online Store → Navigation → Footer menu).
BigCommerce
A few minutes- Storefront → Web Pages → New: publish a returns policy with slug `returns` or `returns-policy`.
- Storefront → Navigation: add the page to your footer menu.
WooCommerce
A few minutes- WordPress → Pages → New: publish your returns policy with slug `refund_returns` or `refund-policy`.
- Appearance → Menus: add the page to your footer menu.
Custom / headless
A few minutes- Publish a returns policy page at `/returns` or `/refund-policy`.
- Server-render at least 200 chars of body text covering window, conditions, and process.
- Link the page from your site footer.
<main>
<h1>Returns & Refunds</h1>
<p>
We accept returns within 30 days of delivery. Items must be unworn,
unwashed, and in original packaging. Sale items and final-sale
categories are non-returnable. Return shipping is at the customer's
expense unless the item arrived damaged. Refunds are processed to
the original payment method within 5 business days of inspection.
</p>
</main>The spec it's pinned to
Google merchant listing — return policy
Google's merchant-listing guidance recommends a reachable returns/refund policy page so shoppers and AI agents can quote your return terms before they buy.
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.