Migrate account management from the Content API for Shopping

This document explains how you can migrate from Content API v2.1 to Merchant API.

Overview of changes from Content API v2.1 to Merchant API

Merchant API introduces significant improvements over Content API v2.1, aiming to enhance usability, consistency, and flexibility for developers and businesses.

Granular resource structure

Resources in Merchant API represent single concepts, such as account, businessDetails, user, homepage, and program. They are organized hierarchically to reflect their relationships. For example, an account is the parent resource for a user.

Unified account services

All account services (for example, account aggregation for MCAs and their sub-accounts or between third-party service providers and accounts) are managed through a unified accountService resource. Service providers can manage their relationships using the accountRelationship resource.

Simplified URL structure

URLs now use a single account ID (for example, merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/accounts/{accountId}) instead of multiple IDs. URL paths mirror the granular resource structure.

Other improvements

Enhanced program and user management: Programs like Shopping Ads and Free Listings are consolidated under a single program resource. The user resource includes comprehensive management capabilities with granular access rights.
Structured business information and business identity: There are dedicated resources for businessInfo and businessIdentity. They include compliance support with fields for region-specific data. For example, Korean business registration number.
Streamlined homepage claiming: A dedicated homepage resource manages the store's homepage URL. Methods like claim and unclaim handle website claiming directly through the API.
Compliance with Google API guidelines: Merchant API aims to align with Google's API improvement proposals.

Migration of account management

You can use the accounts resource to create and manage your merchant account. For more information, see Overview of Merchant Accounts API.

This page describes how you can migrate account management from Content API to Merchant API.

Requests

Use the following request URL format for the Merchant Accounts API:

POST https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/{accountId}/accounts

Here's a sample comparison of the Content API for Shopping to the Merchant Accounts API for account creation and management requests:

	Content API for Shopping	Merchant Accounts API
URL	`https://shoppingcontent.googleapis.com/content/v2.1/`merchantId`/accounts/`accountId/	`https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/accounts/`accountId
Identifiers	merchantId`/accounts/`accountId	`accounts/`accountId

Resources

The account data is passed using the Account resource in Content API for Shopping. Merchant Accounts API provides multiple resources to pass accounts data. These resources include Account, User, BusinessInfo, and BusinessIdentity resources.

The following table provides a comparison between the Account resource in Content API for Shopping and the Account resource in Merchant Accounts API.

Content API for Shopping	Merchant Accounts API
`id`	`name`
`name`	`accountName`
`kind`	Not available
`websiteUrl`	`uri` field in the `Homepage` resource
`adultContent`	`adultContent`
`sellerId`	`accountIdAlias` field in the `AccountRelationship` resource
`users`	In `[User](/merchant/api/reference/rest/v1/accounts.v1beta.accounts.users)` resource
`youtubeChannelLinks`	Not available yet
`googleMyBusinessLink`	Not available yet
`businessInformation`	In `[businessInfo](/merchant/api/reference/rest/v1/BusinessInfo)` resource
`businessIdentity`	In `[businessIdentity](/merchant/api/reference/rest/v1/BusinessIdentity)` resource
`automaticImprovements`	Not available yet
`adsLinks`	`campaignsManagement` field in the `AccountService` resource
`cssId`	Available only in the CSS API
`labelIds`	Available only in the CSS API
`accountManagement`	`accountManagement` field in the `AccountService` resource
`automaticLabelIds`	Available only in the CSS API
`conversionSettings`	Not available yet

The following table provides a comparison between the AccountUser resource in Content API for Shopping and the User resource in Merchant Accounts API.

Content API for Shopping	Merchant Accounts API
`emailAddress`	email is part of the `name`(`accounts/{account}/users/{email}`).
`admin`	`user#accessRights.ADMIN`
`orderManager`	Not available
`paymentsManager`	Not available
`paymentsAnalyst`	Not available
`reportingManager`	`user#accessRights.PERFORMANCE_REPORTING`

The following table provides a comparison between the AccountBusinessInformation resource in Content API for Shopping and its equivalent resource businessInfo in Merchant Accounts API.

Content API for Shopping	Merchant Accounts API
`businessInformation`	`businessInfo`
`phoneNumber`	`phone`
`phoneVerificationStatus`	`phoneVerificationState`
`customerService`	`customerService`
`koreanBusinessRegistrationNumber`	`koreanBusinessRegistrationNumber`

The following table provides a comparison between the AccountBusinessIdentity resource in Content API for Shopping and businessIdentity resource in Merchant Accounts API.

Content API for Shopping	Merchant Accounts API
`blackOwned`	`blackOwned`
`womenOwned`	`womenOwned`
`veteranOwned`	`veteranOwned`
`latinoOwned`	`latinoOwned`
`smallBusiness`	`smallBusiness`
`includeForPromotions`	`promotionsConsent`
	- `true` signifies `PROMOTION_CONSENT_GIVEN`
	- `false` signifies `PROMOTION_CONSENT_DENIED`

The AccountIdentityType resource in the Content API is represented by the IdentityAttribute type and its field identityDeclaration in MerchantAPI.

Content API for Shopping	Merchant Accounts API
`self_identified`	`identityDeclaration`
	- `true` signifies `SELF_IDENTIFIES_AS`
	- `false` signifies `DOES_NOT_SELF_IDENTIFY_AS`

Methods

The following methods have been introduced in the Merchant Accounts API:

Content API for Shopping	Merchant Accounts API
`accounts.authinfo`	`GET https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/accounts` with no filter
`accounts.claimwebsite`	`POST https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/accounts/`accountId`/homepage:claim`
	For more information, see Method: accounts.v1beta.accounts.homepage.claim
`accounts.custombatch`	Not available. Custom batch is not supported in Merchant API.
`accounts.delete`	`DELETE https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/accounts/`accountId
`accounts.get`	`GET https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/`accountId`
`accounts.insert`	`POST https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/accounts:createAndConfigure`
	For more information, see Create and configure a merchant account
`accounts.link`	`AccountService` resource
`accounts.list`	`GET https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/`accountId`:listSubaccounts`
`accounts.listlinks`	`GET https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/accounts/v1beta/`accountId`/services`
`accounts.update`	Maps to an update request for the resource where the required field or set of fields are defined.

Overview

Migrate inventory management