How to use shorter titles and the new Item Highlights field to improve product clarity, search relevance, AI shopping readiness, and conversion
By Nawaz Charania, Founder of Appath
Published June 28, 2026 · Amazon policy verified June 28, 2026
Starting July 27, 2026, titles in all categories except media must be 75 characters or fewer, including spaces. Amazon is pairing the shorter title with Item Highlights, a separate field that provides up to 125 additional searchable characters for materials, recommended uses, and other information that helps customers compare products.
Amazon says the change is intended to make titles display fully on mobile and create a more consistent shopping experience. For sellers, however, the real change is deeper: the product title can no longer carry every keyword, specification, audience term, use case, and selling point.
The title and Item Highlights now need to work together.
This guide explains what Amazon has officially announced, what sellers should change before the deadline, how to think about Amazon search and AI-assisted shopping, and how to restructure large catalogs without sacrificing important product information.
Marketplace note: This guide is based on Amazon.com U.S. Seller Central guidance available on June 28, 2026. Sellers should also review the current title requirements, product-type requirements, and category style guide for every marketplace in which they sell.
What Amazon is changing on July 27, 2026
Amazon’s official announcement confirms the following:
- Beginning July 27, 2026, titles in all categories except media must be 75 characters or fewer, including spaces.
- Item Highlights provide up to 125 additional characters.
- Item Highlights are searchable.
- Item Highlights are visible with titles in search results and on product detail pages.
- Sellers can review AI-recommended titles and Item Highlights through Manage All Inventory → Edit → View enhancements.
- Amazon’s recommendations are designed to keep key product information in the title and move additional details into Item Highlights.
- After July 27, titles that remain over 75 characters will be gradually updated to Amazon’s AI recommendation.
- Listings remain active during this process.
- Sellers can continue editing titles and Item Highlights.
- When changes are made to listings, brand owners receive 14 days before implementation to review, modify, and approve applicable AI-generated recommendations.
The deadline is therefore not an immediate listing-deactivation event. It is a control issue.
A seller who updates proactively decides which product information remains in the title. A seller who waits may eventually rely on Amazon’s general AI recommendation to make that decision.
Amazon’s current product-title help page and category guidance still matter. The new 75-character maximum should not be interpreted as replacing every other title requirement. Existing rules concerning repetition, certain special characters, product-type formatting, and category-specific requirements may still apply.
Why sellers should update titles before the deadline
The easiest response would be to shorten every title at character 75.
That is also one of the fastest ways to remove the wrong information.
Long titles often contain a mixture of:
- The actual product name
- Material or ingredient
- Size, count, or capacity
- Audience
- Design or style
- Compatibility
- Secondary synonyms
- Use cases
- Promotional language
- Repeated keywords
If those elements are removed only according to word position, a seller may accidentally cut:
- The primary product type
- A critical compatibility term
- A trusted material or construction detail
- An important model number
- A fixed size
- A pack quantity
- The attribute that separates one variation from another
The better approach is to rebuild each title around the product’s essential identity and deliberately move secondary information into Item Highlights, structured attributes, bullets, descriptions, or backend search terms.
For a small catalog, that may be manageable manually. For a catalog containing hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of products, it becomes a structured data and quality-control project.
The new title-and-highlights strategy
The new format creates a coordinated surface of up to 200 searchable characters:
| Field | Maximum | Primary purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Product title | 75 characters | Identify the product clearly and earn the click |
| Item Highlights | 125 characters | Add comparison facts, attributes, audience, compatibility, and use cases |
These fields should be optimized together, but they should not become one long keyword string split across two boxes.
A practical way to think about the division is:
The title states what the product is. Item Highlights explain the most important facts and uses around it.
The title should answer:
- What is the product?
- What is it made from?
- What essential attribute changes its identity?
- What specification is necessary for relevance?
- What grounded differentiator can help it earn the click?
Item Highlights should answer:
- Who is it for?
- What is it used for?
- What material, finish, ingredient, or construction detail matters?
- What is it compatible with?
- What secondary measurement or option helps comparison?
- What useful information did not fit naturally in the title?
This division supports customers first. It also creates cleaner product information for Amazon search and AI shopping experiences to interpret.
What belongs in the 75-character title
A strong title uses the smallest number of words necessary to identify the product accurately and competitively.
The exact order must follow the applicable Amazon marketplace, product type, and category guidance. As an optimization principle, the following elements usually deserve priority.
1. The recognized product type
Use the phrase shoppers naturally use to identify the item.
Examples:
- Insulated travel mug
- Orthopedic dog bed
- Vitamin C serum
- USB-C hub
- Wedding band
- Trail running shoes
- Storage organizer
Avoid replacing the recognized product type with vague phrases such as “premium solution,” “lifestyle essential,” or “innovative accessory.”
2. Essential classifying attributes
Include facts that materially affect relevance or product identity.
Depending on the category, those may include:
- Material
- Ingredient
- Capacity
- Pack count
- Size or length
- Gender or audience
- Device compatibility
- Product format
- Model number
- Technical rating
- Color
- Design or style
A product may have dozens of known attributes. Only a few are important enough to occupy the title.
3. Natural, high-intent phrases
Keep phrases customers commonly use together.
Examples:
- Stainless steel travel mug
- Men’s wedding band
- Orthopedic dog bed
- Vitamin C face serum
- Waterproof trail running shoes
- USB-C laptop hub
Do not break a clear product phrase apart simply to insert another keyword.
4. A specific, grounded differentiator
Use a factual feature that helps the product stand apart.
Examples:
- Washable cover
- Diamond cut
- 100W power delivery
- Fragrance-free
- With handle
- Wide width
- Adjustable height
- Leak-resistant lid
Concrete attributes generally provide more value than subjective words such as “beautiful,” “stylish,” “amazing,” “premium,” or “best.”
5. Essential variation information
Include size, count, capacity, or compatibility when that information determines whether the product is relevant.
Examples:
- Ring size
- Shoe size
- Cable length
- Storage capacity
- Pack quantity
- Screen size
- Device model
- Color variant
Parent and child listings may require different treatment. Sellers should verify how the title will be applied across the variation family before making a bulk change.
Should the brand remain in the title?
Do not apply a universal rule that the brand should always be removed to reclaim characters.
Brand placement should follow the current Amazon requirement for the applicable marketplace, category, product type, and contribution context. It may also be commercially important where the brand meaningfully affects recognition or trust.
The right answer is configurable, not absolute.
What belongs in Item Highlights
Amazon describes Item Highlights as space for materials, recommended uses, and information that helps customers compare options.
Useful content can include:
- Materials or ingredients
- Finish or construction
- Measurements
- Pack quantity
- Included components
- Compatibility
- Intended audience
- Recommended activity
- Occasion or use case
- Care information
- Secondary product terminology
- Available options
- Important product limitations
A concise, comma-separated phrase format is a practical way to use the 125-character field efficiently. That is an optimization recommendation, not a claim that Amazon requires one exact punctuation format.
For example:
Title:
Stainless Steel Insulated Travel Mug with Handle, 20 oz
Item Highlights:
Double-wall insulation, leak-resistant lid, fits most cup holders, for hot or cold drinks
The title communicates the product type, material, format, and capacity. The highlights communicate construction, lid type, compatibility, and intended use.
Do not turn Item Highlights into a second keyword dump
Because the field is searchable, some sellers may be tempted to fill it with every synonym removed from the title.
Avoid:
mug cup tumbler travel cup coffee cup insulated mug hot mug cold mug
Prefer:
Double-wall insulation, leak-resistant lid, fits most cup holders, for coffee, tea or cold drinks
The second version still includes relevant shopper language, but each phrase communicates a supported product fact or use.
Examples across product categories
These examples demonstrate information placement. They are not universal Amazon templates. Every seller should verify the current category rules and factual accuracy of the product.
Jewelry
Previous title:
GemApex Solid 14k Yellow Gold Wedding Band Diamond Cut Ring Diamond Cut Satin & Polished Style 6 mm, Size 9
Optimized title — 64 characters:
GemApex Solid 14k Yellow Gold Men's Diamond Cut Wedding Band 6mm
Item Highlights — 106 characters:
Size 9, satin and polished finish, solid 14k gold, wedding or anniversary ring, additional sizes available
The title preserves the strongest product identity: brand, construction, metal, audience, design, item type, and width.
The Item Highlights carry ring size, finish, material reinforcement, a natural secondary “ring” term, occasion, and available options.
There is no need to force “ring,” “band,” and “wedding ring” repeatedly into the title.
Home and kitchen
Optimized title — 55 characters:
Stainless Steel Insulated Travel Mug with Handle, 20 oz
Item Highlights — 89 characters:
Double-wall insulation, leak-resistant lid, fits most cup holders, for hot or cold drinks
Beauty
Optimized title — 50 characters:
Vitamin C Face Serum with Hyaluronic Acid, 1 fl oz
Item Highlights — 71 characters:
Fragrance-free, lightweight daily serum for dull or uneven-looking skin
Beauty, supplement, and personal-care claims require particular care. Every ingredient and benefit statement should be supported and permitted for the category.
Electronics
Optimized title — 50 characters:
USB-C 7-in-1 Hub with HDMI and 100W Power Delivery
Item Highlights — 97 characters:
Adds USB-A, HDMI and card reader ports, for compatible laptops and tablets, compact travel design
Compatibility should be specific. Do not imply universal compatibility when the product supports only certain devices, ports, operating systems, or power standards.
Pet supplies
Optimized title — 46 characters:
Memory Foam Dog Bed with Washable Cover, Large
Item Highlights — 84 characters:
Layered foam support, removable machine-washable cover, nonslip base, for large dogs
Apparel and footwear
Optimized title — 46 characters:
Women's Waterproof Trail Running Shoes, Size 8
Item Highlights — 90 characters:
Breathable mesh upper, grippy outsole, cushioned support, for wet trails and mixed terrain
How this affects Amazon search and AI shopping
Amazon shopping is becoming increasingly conversational.
Amazon describes Rufus as an AI shopping assistant that can answer product questions, compare options, make recommendations, and help customers search by activity, event, purpose, or need. Amazon has also expanded conversational shopping through Alexa for Shopping.
A traditional search may look like:
20 oz stainless steel travel mug
A conversational request may look like:
- “Which travel mug fits in a car cup holder?”
- “Is this suitable for keeping coffee hot during a commute?”
- “Does it have a leak-resistant lid?”
- “Which option is useful for a frequent traveler?”
That changes what a complete listing needs to communicate.
A useful listing should make relationships explicit:
- Product → product type
- Product → material
- Product → audience
- Product → size or capacity
- Product → compatibility
- Product → use case
- Product → included component
- Product → differentiating feature
However, sellers should be careful not to turn reasonable optimization strategy into unsupported algorithm claims.
Amazon confirms that Item Highlights are searchable and visible with titles. Amazon has not publicly disclosed a specific Rufus or Alexa for Shopping ranking weight for Item Highlights, nor has it guaranteed that adding a particular phrase will cause a product to be recommended.
The sound strategy is not to write for a supposed secret AI formula.
It is to give customers and Amazon clearer, more complete, and more accurate product information.
The rest of the listing still matters
A shorter title does not make the other listing fields less important. It makes disciplined field placement more important.
Product title
Use for:
- Product identity
- Primary product phrase
- Essential material or ingredient
- Most important differentiator
- Critical size, count, capacity, or compatibility
Item Highlights
Use for:
- Comparison facts
- Secondary specifications
- Construction or finish
- Audience
- Compatibility
- Intended activity or occasion
- Secondary product terminology
- Important details displaced from the title
Structured attributes
Use for:
- Category-specific specifications
- Materials
- Dimensions
- Compatibility
- Variation data
- Product identifiers
- Required catalog fields
Mentioning an attribute in prose does not necessarily replace the need to populate Amazon’s structured field.
Bullet points
Use for:
- Customer benefits
- Objection handling
- Usage information
- Included components
- Fit or compatibility explanations
- Care instructions
- Important disclosures
- Factual trust signals
Product description and A+ Content
Use for:
- Product education
- Use scenarios
- Detailed explanations
- Brand positioning
- Frequently asked questions
- Comparison guidance
- Scannable long-form content
Backend search terms
Use for relevant terms not already represented efficiently in visible content, including:
- Legitimate synonyms
- Alternate names
- Common abbreviations
- Regional terminology
- Common spelling variations
- Relevant multilingual terminology
Avoid spending backend capacity on unnecessary duplication.
How to optimize large catalogs
The update creates several catalog-level risks that are easy to miss when reviewing products one at a time.
Risk 1: cutting off essential product information
A mechanical truncation may remove the exact attribute that makes the listing relevant.
Risk 2: creating duplicate titles
At 75 characters, related SKUs can collapse into identical or near-identical titles.
For example, several products may all become:
Stainless Steel Insulated Travel Mug, 20 oz
Yet they may differ by:
- Lid type
- Handle
- Straw
- Color
- Pack quantity
- Insulation construction
- Included accessories
Reordering identical words is not meaningful differentiation. Pull the next supported product attribute into the title or Item Highlights.
If no distinguishing attribute exists, the underlying problem may be incomplete product data.
Risk 3: moving facts into the wrong field
A product may become title-compliant but lose important comparison, compatibility, or variation information.
Risk 4: propagating an unsupported claim at scale
A single inaccurate material, measurement, finish, ingredient, clasp, compatibility statement, or use case can be repeated across thousands of listings when bulk content is generated without grounding and validation.
Risk 5: optimizing every category with one template
The information that deserves title priority differs by category:
- Capacity matters for drinkware.
- Compatibility matters for electronics.
- Size and fit matter for apparel.
- Ingredient and formulation matter for beauty.
- Count matters for consumables.
- Dimensions matter for furniture and storage.
- Material, design, audience, and size matter for jewelry.
A universal title formula cannot handle these tradeoffs well.
Use first-party Amazon data where available
Eligible Brand Registry sellers can access Amazon Brand Analytics reports through Seller Central and SP-API.
Amazon’s Search Query Performance and Search Catalog Performance reports can provide metrics such as:
- Search queries
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Cart additions
- Purchases
- Click rate
- Conversion rate
- ASIN-level performance
Access requires the relevant Brand Analytics role and Amazon Brand Registry eligibility.
Advertising search-term reports can provide another view of the queries that generated clicks and orders.
This data can help answer practical questions:
- Which phrases generate impressions?
- Which queries earn clicks?
- Which queries convert?
- Which product attributes matter in this category?
- Which title phrases consume space without producing useful demand?
- Which use cases deserve greater visibility?
The strongest strategy combines product facts, current Amazon policy, category knowledge, and measured seller performance.
How Appath approaches the update
At Appath, we updated the Amazon output strategy of the AI Product Optimizer around the new two-field structure.
The goal is not merely to shorten a title. It is to select and place the strongest supported product information across the title, Item Highlights, bullets, description, structured coverage, and backend terms.
The process includes:
1. Extract product facts
The optimizer can work from available information such as:
- Supplier product data
- Existing listings
- Structured attributes
- Variations
- Measurements
- Materials or ingredients
- Product images
- Retailer profile
- Target sales channel
2. Ground product claims
Visible physical claims should be supported by reliable product data or image evidence.
Non-visible facts such as dimensions, purity, ingredients, weight, or technical specifications should come from dependable source fields rather than visual guesses.
3. Create typed candidate phrases
Instead of immediately writing a title, the optimizer identifies phrases by purpose:
- Product type
- Material
- Design or style
- Audience
- Size or measurement
- Finish or construction
- Compatibility
- Use case or occasion
Weak filler should not displace stronger product information.
4. Rank information by category and intent
The optimizer evaluates which supported phrases deserve title placement for the specific product category.
5. Pack the two fields together
The highest-priority information is placed into the title without exceeding 75 characters.
Valuable secondary information is placed into Item Highlights without exceeding 125 characters.
The objective is not to fill every character. It is to use each character well.
6. Validate independently
Generated content can be checked for:
- Character limits
- Repetition
- Unsupported claims
- Image consistency
- Attribute coverage
- Cross-variation consistency
- Duplicate or near-duplicate titles
- Channel formatting
- Policy and suppression risk
- Overall listing quality
The model generates. Separate validators enforce.
7. Improve with performance data
Where sellers authorize access and the data is available, listing and query performance can help refine phrase priorities over time.
The Appath AI Product Optimizer is a separate, optional, on-demand service for Appath Platform customers. It produces channel-ready draft content with quality scoring and review controls; it does not remove the seller’s responsibility to review product facts and marketplace compliance.
Learn more about the Appath AI Product Optimizer.
Seller action plan
1. Audit affected listings
Identify all non-media listings with titles over 75 characters.
Segment:
- Parent listings
- Child variations
- High-revenue ASINs
- Advertising destinations
- Listings with substantial traffic
- Listings with known data-quality issues
2. Export current content
Preserve:
- Titles
- Item attributes
- Bullets
- Descriptions
- Backend terms
- Variation data
- Existing performance data
3. Define the essential product identity
For each product, identify:
- Primary product type
- Essential material or ingredient
- Strongest category-specific attribute
- Necessary variation information
- Most meaningful differentiator
4. Build the title and Item Highlights together
Do not shorten the title in isolation.
Decide where every displaced fact belongs.
5. Remove weak repetition
Look for:
- Repeated product types
- Forced synonyms
- Duplicate material phrases
- Repeated audience terms
- Subjective filler
- Promotional language
- Unnecessary punctuation
6. Verify factual accuracy
Check:
- Materials
- Ingredients
- Measurements
- Compatibility
- Count
- Included components
- Construction
- Finish
- Variation details
- Image consistency
7. Review Amazon’s AI recommendation
Use the recommendation as a useful comparison. Verify it against the product data, category strategy, and retailer goals before accepting it.
8. Monitor after publishing
Track:
- Impressions
- Click-through rate
- Cart additions
- Conversion
- Purchases
- Advertising performance
- Search-query performance
- Returns
- Listing errors
- Amazon-applied content changes
Frequently asked questions
When does Amazon’s 75-character title limit begin?
Amazon says the requirement begins July 27, 2026.
Does the limit include spaces?
Yes. Spaces count toward the 75-character limit.
Which categories are affected?
Amazon says all categories except media are affected. Sellers should also confirm current marketplace, product-type, and category-specific requirements.
What are Item Highlights?
Item Highlights provide up to 125 additional characters for product materials, recommended uses, and other details that help customers compare products.
Are Item Highlights searchable?
Yes. Amazon states that Item Highlights are searchable and visible with titles in search results and on product detail pages.
What happens to titles that remain over 75 characters?
Amazon says titles still over 75 characters after July 27 will be gradually updated to Amazon’s AI recommendation.
Will an overlength listing immediately become inactive?
Amazon says listings remain active during the gradual update process.
Can sellers change Amazon’s AI-recommended content?
Yes. Sellers can continue editing titles and Item Highlights. Amazon also says brand owners receive 14 days before implementation to review, modify, and approve applicable AI-generated recommendations when changes are made to listings.
Should every title use all 75 characters?
No. Seventy-five characters is a maximum, not a target. Do not add filler merely to reach the limit.
Should the title and Item Highlights repeat information?
Some reinforcement may be appropriate for an essential product fact, but the two fields should primarily complement each other.
Is it acceptable to use synonyms such as “ring” and “band”?
Yes, when both accurately describe the product and read naturally. The strongest term can remain in the title while the secondary term appears naturally in Item Highlights, bullets, or backend terms. Avoid forcing repeated synonyms into the title.
Does Item Highlights guarantee better Rufus or Alexa for Shopping recommendations?
No. Amazon has not published a guaranteed recommendation effect or a specific AI-ranking weight for Item Highlights.
Does optimizing for AI shopping replace traditional Amazon listing optimization?
No. Product accuracy, structured attributes, query relevance, click-through rate, conversion, pricing, availability, reviews, and customer experience still matter.
Final takeaway
Amazon’s 75-character title update does not reduce the importance of product information.
It changes where that information belongs.
The strongest post-update listings will use:
- The title to identify the product and earn the click
- Item Highlights to communicate comparison facts and shopper intent
- Structured attributes to define the product accurately
- Bullets and descriptions to persuade and answer questions
- Backend terms to capture useful, non-duplicative terminology
- First-party performance data to improve decisions over time
The goal is not simply to fit below 75 characters.
The goal is to create a clearer, more accurate, and more useful listing for customers, Amazon search, and AI-assisted shopping—while retaining control over how the product is represented.
Review affected Amazon listings before July 27, 2026.
Official and supporting sources
- Amazon Seller Central — Updates to improve your product titles begin on July 27
- Amazon Seller Central — Product title requirements and guidelines
- Amazon Seller Central — New product title requirements effective January 21, 2025
- Amazon — Rufus AI shopping assistant
- Amazon — Alexa for Shopping
- Amazon SP-API — Analytics Reports