diff --git a/reference/fleet/kafka-output-settings.md b/reference/fleet/kafka-output-settings.md
index 9cde82bb47..572b018912 100644
--- a/reference/fleet/kafka-output-settings.md
+++ b/reference/fleet/kafka-output-settings.md
@@ -259,12 +259,12 @@ Configure timeout and buffer size values for the Kafka brokers.
 
     **Default:** `2048`
 
-`bulk_flush_frequency` $$$output-kafka-fleet-settings-flush_frequency-setting$$$
+`bulk_flush_frequency` $$$output-kafka-fleet-settings-flush_frequency-setting$$$ {applies_to}`stack: deprecated 9.4.0+`
 :   (int) Duration to wait before sending bulk Kafka request. `0` is no delay.
 
     **Default:** `0`
 
-`channel_buffer_size` $$$output-kafka-fleet-settings-channel_buffer_size-setting$$$
+`channel_buffer_size` $$$output-kafka-fleet-settings-channel_buffer_size-setting$$$ {applies_to}`stack: deprecated 9.4.0+`
 :   (int) Per Kafka broker number of messages buffered in output pipeline.
 
     **Default:** `256`
@@ -315,16 +315,21 @@ Configure timeout and buffer size values for the Kafka brokers.
 `metadata` $$$output-kafka-fleet-settings-metadata-setting$$$
 :   Kafka metadata update settings. The metadata contains information about brokers, topics, partition, and active leaders to use for publishing.
 
+    :::{note}
+    :applies_to: stack: ga 9.4.0+
+    Starting in 9.4.0, the Kafka client uses franz-go, so the `full`, `retry.max`, and `retry.backoff` metadata options no longer apply.
+    :::
+
     **`refresh_frequency`**
     :   Metadata refresh interval. Defaults to 10 minutes.
 
-    **`full`**
+    **`full`** {applies_to}`stack: removed 9.4+`
     :   Strategy to use when fetching metadata. When this option is `true`, the client will maintain a full set of metadata for all the available topics. When set to `false` it will only refresh the metadata for the configured topics. The default is false.
 
-    **`retry.max`**
+    **`retry.max`** {applies_to}`stack: removed 9.4+`
     :   Total number of metadata update retries. The default is 3.
 
-    **`retry.backoff`**
+    **`retry.backoff`** {applies_to}`stack: removed 9.4+`
     :   Waiting time between retries. The default is 250ms.
 
 `queue.mem.events` $$$output-kafka-fleet-settings-queue.mem.events-setting$$$
diff --git a/reference/fleet/kafka-output.md b/reference/fleet/kafka-output.md
index 2d69215cb4..056e057691 100644
--- a/reference/fleet/kafka-output.md
+++ b/reference/fleet/kafka-output.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ products:
 # Kafka output [kafka-output]
 
 
-The Kafka output sends events to Apache Kafka.
+The Kafka output sends events to Apache Kafka. Starting in 9.4.0, the Kafka client uses franz-go instead of Sarama, and [some options](#kafka-metadata-setting) are no longer configurable.
 
 **Compatibility:** This output can connect to Kafka version 0.8.2.0 and later. Older versions might work as well, but are not supported.
 
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ You can specify these various other options in the `kafka-output` section of the
 
     **Default:** `10` (seconds)
 
-`bulk_flush_frequency` $$$kafka-bulk_flush_frequency-setting$$$
+`bulk_flush_frequency` $$$kafka-bulk_flush_frequency-setting$$$ {applies_to}`stack: deprecated 9.4.0+`
 :   (int) Duration to wait before sending bulk Kafka request. `0` is no delay.
 
     **Default:** `0`
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ You can specify these various other options in the `kafka-output` section of the
 
     **Default:** `2048`
 
-`channel_buffer_size` $$$kafka-channel_buffer_size-setting$$$
+`channel_buffer_size` $$$kafka-channel_buffer_size-setting$$$ {applies_to}`stack: deprecated 9.4.0+`
 :   (int) Per Kafka broker number of messages buffered in output pipeline.
 
     **Default:** `256`
@@ -337,16 +337,22 @@ You can specify these various other options in the `kafka-output` section of the
 
 `metadata` $$$kafka-metadata-setting$$$
 :   Kafka metadata update settings. The metadata contains information about brokers, topics, partition, and active leaders to use for publishing.
+
+    :::{note}
+    :applies_to: stack: ga 9.4.0+
+    Starting in 9.4.0, the Kafka client uses franz-go, so the `full`, `retry.max`, and `retry.backoff` metadata options no longer apply.
+    :::
+
     `refresh_frequency`
     :   Metadata refresh interval. Defaults to 10 minutes.
 
-    `full`
+    `full` {applies_to}`stack: removed 9.4+`
     :   Strategy to use when fetching metadata. When this option is `true`, the client will maintain a full set of metadata for all the available topics. When set to `false` it will only refresh the metadata for the configured topics. The default is false.
 
-    `retry.max`
+    `retry.max` {applies_to}`stack: removed 9.4+`
     :   Total number of metadata update retries. The default is 3.
 
-    `retry.backoff`
+    `retry.backoff` {applies_to}`stack: removed 9.4+`
     :   Waiting time between retries. The default is 250ms.
 
 `required_acks` $$$kafka-required_acks-setting$$$