Google Demand Gen 2026: Features, ad formats and campaign structure

Demand Gen is one of the newer campaign types in Google Ads and has changed significantly since 2025. Product feeds, channel controls per ad group and new reports have turned an awareness campaign into a tool that also drives purchases and inquiries. In 2026, Google Maps and the entire Display Network were added.

With so many changes, it is easy to lose track. In this article, we explain how Demand Gen works today, which formats and specs apply and how we set up campaigns that deliver results across every channel.

Demand Gen creates demand before your customers search

A Demand Gen campaign reaches people before they actively search for a product. Ads appear on Google's most visual surfaces:

• YouTube: in Shorts, the feed, “Up next” and on the home page.
• Discover: in the interest feed on Android and in the Google app.
• Gmail: in the inbox tabs.
• Google Maps: as promoted pins when a location asset is active in the account.
• Google Display Network: on websites and in apps.

That makes Demand Gen the natural choice for advertisers already succeeding with visual ads on Meta or TikTok. You reach people in similar moments, backed by Google's data and reach.

The Display Network is moving into Demand Gen

In May 2026, Google announced that display campaigns will move into Demand Gen. If you still want to advertise on the Display Network only, you can do so through a Demand Gen campaign's channel controls. Google provides a migration tool, and the transition is scheduled to finish by 2027.

If you run display campaigns today, plan the migration yourself and start early. Check in advance which audiences, exclusions and placements you want to carry over, and which features work differently in Demand Gen.

Demand Gen and Performance Max serve different purposes

The two campaign types are often confused, but they cover different stages of the buying journey:

• Demand Gen targets awareness, new customers and interest. You keep more control: you manage your creatives directly and choose, at ad group level, which channels your ads run on.
• Performance Max focuses on conversions, covers all of Google's inventory including Search and Shopping, and looks for users who are ready to buy now.

They work best together: Demand Gen sparks interest among people who do not know your offering yet, while Performance Max and search campaigns convert that demand into sales. Our comparison of AI Max and Performance Max shows how Performance Max differs from search campaigns with AI Max.

Your creatives are your biggest lever

In Demand Gen, the quality of your images and videos matters more than any setting. These formats and specs apply:

Single image ads

One strong image plus copy.

• Assets: image, up to five headlines of up to 40 characters each, one to five descriptions of up to 90 characters each, and a business name of up to 25 characters. At least one headline should be 30 characters or less so the ad can also run on the Display Network.
• Call to action: Automatic selection adapts the text to language and context and is usually the best option.
• Our approach: images that show a moment from your customers' lives, with little or no text overlay. Ad strength in the account shows where assets are missing.

Video ads

This is where Demand Gen shines, especially on YouTube.

• Formats: landscape, square and portrait (9:16) for YouTube Shorts.
• Creative: Videos should make sense with the sound off and persuade with it on.
• Automatic enhancements: Google can trim videos and adjust the aspect ratio. Review the results before letting them run long term.

Carousel ads

Good for telling a story or showcasing several product categories.

• Cards: 2 to 10 image cards, all in the same aspect ratio.
• Specs: headlines of up to 40 characters; images in 1.91:1, 1:1 or, optionally, 4:5.
• Order: If the cards tell a continuous story, fix their order.

Product feeds make Demand Gen ads shoppable

Connecting Google Merchant Center turns Demand Gen into a shoppable ad. The path from discovery to purchase gets much shorter, because users see product details right in the ad.

How to set up Demand Gen with a product feed

1. Link Merchant Center: Connect your Merchant Center to Google Ads.
2. Choose a campaign goal: Select a goal such as sales and enable the product feed.
3. Check images: High-resolution, square product images in the feed are the foundation for dynamic ads.
4. Filter products: Use product groups to advertise only the products that match the campaign's audience, such as the summer collection for a summer campaign.
5. Give the AI options: The more relevant products a group contains, the more room the AI has to work with.

For profitability, step four matters most. Demand Gen advertises whatever you give it. Hand over your entire catalog, and Google will promote low-margin products too. Dedicated product groups for high-margin items steer budget to where you actually make money. Our page on data feed management explains how to structure a feed for this.

Feeds enable new ad formats

• Video with products: Your video plays, for example in Shorts, with matching products from your feed shown below as clickable tiles.
• Local offers: With store availability data, ads show what is in stock nearby. Google launched this feature in beta in 2025, alongside omnichannel bidding. Ask your Google contact whether both are available in your account.

The new features put you back in control

Channel controls let you decide where your ads run

Google used to decide on its own which channels a Demand Gen ad appeared on. Now you set this per ad group, choosing YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Display Network individually.

• Example: For a strong vertical video, create an ad group for YouTube Shorts only.
• Example: If you want static images to feel like a newsletter, select Gmail and Discover and leave out YouTube.

This makes clean placement tests possible. Google itself recommends “All Google channels” for most advertisers. We only restrict channels where a creative is built for one specific channel.

Omnichannel bidding connects your online store and physical stores

If you operate physical stores, omnichannel bidding lets you optimize for online sales and store visits at the same time. The bidding strategy adapts depending on whether a user is more likely to buy online or visit a store.

New reports show impact beyond the click

Since 2025, dedicated columns have made Demand Gen comparable with paid social campaigns:

• View-through conversions: These show who saw your ad without clicking and later converted another way. For Demand Gen, this metric is key, because many touchpoints work without a click.
• Impact isolated from other campaigns: The reports show Demand Gen's share of results, separate from your other Google campaigns.

The principles we use to make Demand Gen campaigns work

The creative does the targeting

Test different hooks in the first few seconds of your videos. What works on TikTok often works in YouTube Shorts too, with a little more polish.

Your bidding strategy evolves with your data

• Launch: “Maximize clicks” to build traffic and gather initial data.
• Scale: Once a campaign reaches around 50 conversions, we switch to “Maximize conversions” or “Target CPA”, or to value-based bidding for online stores with reliable conversion values.

Your own customer data is the strongest signal

Use your first-party data, such as buyer lists, to build lookalike segments. In Demand Gen, this remains one of the most effective targeting options.

New campaigns need time to learn

Give a new campaign one to two weeks before making major changes to budgets or assets.

Conclusion: Demand Gen is a growth channel with measurable impact

With channel controls, product feeds and the Display Network integration, Demand Gen has become a channel with measurable impact on sales and inquiries, on a par with Performance Max and Search. For advertisers with strong image and video assets, it is the way to win new customers on YouTube and across Google's other surfaces.

What matters is what you advertise and how you measure success. Report conversion values that account for contribution margin. Then check whether the additional sales justify the advertising costs. You can find more on video campaigns on our page on YouTube advertising.