Blog > How to Use Google Product Studio
How to Take Advantage of Google Product Studio in Merchant Center Next
By Cullen E
Google’s latest AI powered tool 'Product Studio' gives advertisers the power to create studio-quality product images without the time or expense of professional photography.
In fact, it’s entirely free as part of Google’s Merchant Center Next - the new and revamped Merchant Center that is being rolled out to GMC users throughout 2024.
In this guide, I am going to show you how to take advantage of Product Studio to generate Shopping images that bring you greater clicks and more conversions.
What is Product Studio?
Google Product Studio is a suite of free, AI-powered tools inside of Merchant Center Next that allows you to:
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Improve image resolution
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Generate scenes for your products
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Delete, edit and create product backgrounds
To use Product Studio you simply need to be a Merchant Center Next user and agree to the Terms of Service.
Step-by-Step on How to Take Advantage of Google Product Studio AI
Step 1: Access Product Studio
To access Product Studio, log into your Merchant Center Next account and head to the ‘Products’ tab.
At the top of this page select ‘Product Studio’ and click ‘Get Started’.
Step 2: Select a Product
Select a product that you know will receive a meaningful amount of impressions so that you can do a Before & After test on results.
I’ve found that, as well as increasing CTR and total clicks on your Google Ads, conversion metrics like CPA and ROAS also improve from Product Studio images.
This is because your soon-to-be more relevant images will encourage the high quality shoppers (those that are ready to buy) to interact with your website first.
Step 3: Select a Product Image
Ideally, you will have at least one image of your product on a plain white background. The tool performs best when the product is clearly identifiable.
Step 4: Describe the Product
Here, you want to describe the physical representation of your product such as ‘a bottle’ or ‘a box’.
You only need to use 2-3 words for this and you don’t need to go into any more detail about the product here.
Step 5: Describe the Scene
This is where magic happens and where you prompt Google’s AI to create new images and backdrops for your products.
Here you will set specific prompts for the background, placement and surroundings on which your product sits, including colours and context for the AI to generate.
I’ll give in-depth examples and tips on how to describe the scene in the next section.
It is important to note that the rules on Google Shopping images still apply - that means no using AI to slap sale prices or flashy promotion offers on top of the image.
Guidelines on what not to include can be found here.
Best Practices for Product Studio Image Generation
Do a Manual Google Search for Your Product Keyword(s)
Always do a manual search on the target keyword(s) for the product you have chosen to visualize competitor images and how you position amongst them.
The goal is to understand what the user sees when looking for your product and see if there are any opportunities to generate clicks.
Tip: Use a private browser or incognito mode
Use Google's Pre-Populated Themes
The easiest way to use Product Studio is to simply choose one of Google’s pre-populated themes.
These work great for most products and there is a good range to satisfy specific events and times of the year.
Plus, it’s important to build up your understanding of the tool when you first try it out.
Themes such as ‘studio shots’ will place your product onto a simple coloured backdrop whereas more advanced themes like ‘events’ will create specific images for relevant seasons or promotions.
Add Product Context
If you are comfortable exploring Product Studio further than the standard themes, the first place to start is modifying the input with more detail on your product.
So, where in Step 2 you added in a physical description like ‘a bottle’, in the 'Describe the Scene' section you can add more context so that the AI knows what it is generating.
Example - “a bottle of eyelash glue”
Colour Prompts
The next step from product context is adding colour prompts.
If from your manual search you found that all the products on Shopping are using a similar product on a plain white background, then all you need is a solid colour to make difference to your CTR.
The users’ eyes will naturally draw to your listing since it is the only one that stands out.
If you have a good brand reputation behind you, you can use a variation of your brand colours so that users find your brand quickly amongst a sea of competition.
Whatever colour, you need to make sure the product is still the main focus. So use a backdrop that allows the product to stand out.
Example - I chose the ‘Studio Shot with a pastel backdrop’ theme, added in product context, and prompted AI to generate the backdrop as orange:
Create a Relevant Setting
Nice background colours are all well and good, but the very best Google Shopping Ads are the ones that instantly connect with the user because they are relevant.
Here’s an example of a great Shopping Ad:
This ad is incredible because it shows their target demographic (male, middle-aged), in the environment they would use the product.
Now, we are not at the stage where Product Studio is able to create an image like this. But, we can get close by using prompts.
For example, if you are promoting outdoor gear, you can place your product on the grass with trees behind.
If you are selling cooking equipment, you can set your product onto a kitchen worktop.
If you run Google Ads for hair & beauty products, you can create a salon-like feel with blurred out salon chairs and lights, just like I have done here:
To make this image, I prompted Product Studio AI to set my product onto a marble platform and specifically added the beauty salon setting, with salon chairs and lights. I blurred this out so that the product was still the main focus.
How to Get Google Merchant Center Next and Product Studio
Merchant Center Next is free for all Google Merchant Center users.
If you are creating a new Merchant Center account, you will see Merchant Center Next as standard whereas existing Merchant Center users will be transitioned during the rollout this year.
If you have any questions on how to use Product Studio, you can find me on LinkedIn or send me an email.