Last updated: October 2026
Bottom line: AI can remove backgrounds, place a product in a generated scene and clean up phone photos in minutes, which is why “AI product photoshoot” and “AI background remover” are busy searches ahead of the holiday season. Before you replace your catalogue, read the rules of the places your images will appear. Google Merchant Center, which feeds Google Shopping, requires images made with generative AI to carry metadata saying so, bans promotional text and watermarks, and is raising its minimum image size to 500 × 500 pixels for all products from 31 January 2027. Tools such as PicWish, Photoroom and Shopify’s built-in assistant can do the work; the rules decide how. Everything below was read on the official pages on 23 October 2026.
The Rules First: Google Merchant Center Image Requirements
Google’s image link specification is the most detailed public rulebook for product photos, and it addresses AI directly:
- AI-generated images must say so in their metadata. Images made with generative AI must include metadata identifying them as AI-generated; Google cites the IPTC
DigitalSourceTypeproperty, with values such asTrainedAlgorithmicMedia,CompositeSyntheticandAlgorithmicMedia. Do not strip that metadata — Google says this applies to tools such as its own Product Studio. - Size. Images must be at least 500 × 500 pixels for all products beginning 31 January 2027; Google recommends about 1500 × 1500 for best performance. Files can be no larger than 16 MB or 64 megapixels.
- Formats. JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF, with a file extension that matches the real format.
- Framing. The product should fill no less than 75% and no more than 90% of the image.
- Nothing on top. No promotional text, calls to action or prices; no watermarks, copyright symbols or graphic stamps; no placeholder images; no single-colour squares or borders; no added brand logos unless they are physically part of the product.
The metadata rule is the one AI workflows break most easily, because many editing and export steps strip metadata by default. Check that your final exported file still carries it before you upload.
Marketplaces have their own rules. Amazon’s and Etsy’s help pages did not load for our checks, so read them directly in your seller account before applying any of this to those channels.
What AI Is Good At in a Product Photo Workflow
- Background removal — isolating the product cleanly so it can go on a plain or new background.
- Clean-up and enhancement — sharpening, retouching dust and reflections, enlarging small images.
- Scene generation — placing the product in a generated setting for lifestyle or social images.
- Batch work — applying the same treatment to a whole catalogue.
The one thing it must not do is change the product. A generated scene that alters colour, size or detail misrepresents what the customer will receive, and that is a returns problem before it is a policy problem. Compare every AI image against the real item.
The Tools (as of October 2026)
| Tool | Free use | Paid allowances on the vendor page | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PicWish | Free plan, “no credits included”, limited free trials per feature | Pro 450 credits/month; Max 2,000 credits/month (billed annually) | Batch up to 30 files; Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| Photoroom | No free plan listed | Pro 8,000 AI credits and 1,000 exports a month; Max 25,000 and 3,000 | Product & Listing AI tools, AI Backgrounds |
| Shopify Sidekick | Included with your Shopify plan | Features and limits vary by plan | A photo-editing role inside Shopify admin |
PicWish
PicWish calls itself “your all-in-one free AI photo editor” on its homepage, which lists background removal, a Product Studio for product photos, an AI Designer that works from plain-language descriptions, and batch editing of “up to 30 files” at a time, with apps for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Its pricing page is more precise about “free”: the Free plan has “no credits included”, limited free trials of AI features (for example 10 images each for AI Background, Product Retouch and AI Designer, and 2 for Image Enlarger) and no batch processing. Subscriptions are Pro with 450 credits a month and 100 core-feature downloads a day, and Max with 2,000 credits a month and 15,000 core-feature downloads a month, both billed annually; pay-as-you-go credits “never expire”. The page did not show the prices when we checked, so confirm them at checkout.
